The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
The new North American headquarters of a multi-national flavors and extracts company was showcased Sept. 29 with food samplings and tours.
Activ International, a leader in natural and organic flavors for the food industry, will consolidate its current locations in Middlesex into one 40,000-square-foot facility on Worlds Fair Drive.
The new headquarters will include a “state-of-the-art plant,” featuring new technologies in packing and processing the company’s products, said Peter Gollmer, Activ’s vice president for North America and General Manager.
The company has spent “many millions” in renovating the building over the last year and a half, Gollmer said.
About 10,000 square feet will be used for R&D and office space, he said, with the remainder used for the plant and warehouse.
Gollmer said the new building was opened in June and holds about 20 employees now. He said that number will increase to about 50 when the Middlesex location is closed.
The personnel move will be proceeded by the technology, he said.
Activ, whose world headquarters is in Bienne, Switzerland, has been in business for about 30 years, Gollmer said. The company has facilities in Peru and in Malaysia, “but nothing on this scale,” he said.
He said the New Jersey business has been focusing on natural and organic flavors since 1990, and in 2002 was certified organic.
“We’re the leader in organic flavors,” he said.
Flavors developed by Activ wind up in a variety of foods, from offerings in “quick serve” family restaurants such as Panera Bread, to products offered by soup manufacturers such as Campbell’s.
“Most of our products end up in products in Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s,” he said.
Gollmer said the company picked Franklin for its North American headquarters because “we wanted to keep the factory local because we have the expertise in our workers.”
The township, he said, “is a great place to attract and retain the best talent in flavors.”
“We think it’s great campus here and a great location,” Gollmer said.
Also on hand at the grand opening was Activ Group chairman and president Robert Delin.
The new facility, Delin said in a press release, is known as the “Center of Flavor Excellence.”
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