HAYWARD, CA—Columbus Foods has broken ground toexpand its existing Hayward, salame curing and processingfacility by an additional 55,000 squarefeet. Set to be completed by July 2015, the new buildingwill boast drying capacity for 23 million poundsof salame for the company, a venerable San Francisco Bay Areainstitution that has been bringing a passion for food and acommitment to authentic Italian culinary traditions to life forclose to a century.

“The growth of Columbus' salame products continues to gathermomentum, and we saw a need to increase our capacity by anadditional 50 percent to meet demand,” TimothyFallon, CEO/President of Columbus Foods. “Our traditionalrecipes, which utilize premium cuts of pork, proprietary spiceblends, and a lengthy curing process, are being recognized byconsumers looking to experience authentic, superior-tastingproducts in the salumi category.”

Columbus is investing $28 million dollars intothe project, which will result in a state-of-the-art facility withspecial attention paid to food safety and the brand's time-honoredtraditional production methods. The facility is being developedthrough an ongoing design-build partnership between Columbus andStellar, a recognized industry leader in providingtrue turnkey, design-build solutions for the food & beverageindustry.