<p style="text-indent:0px; line-height:12px;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">Streamwood, IL-</span><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">By ANUK Staff<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">2.25.13</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><img src="https://cdn.andnowuknow.com/legacyWriterImages/freshexpress022513ban.jpg" alt="Croppedimages022513" /><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Chiquita’s Fresh Express is set to begin operations at its new plant at a former Duraco Products site in Streamwood, Illinois, making it the single largest employer in the area.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><img src="https://cdn.andnowuknow.com/legacyWriterImages/freshexpress022513body1.jpg" alt="Croppedimages022513" /><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Maker of packaged, ready-to-eat salads, Fresh Express will employ over 700 at the facility.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">"It's taking a facility that has been vacant for more than two years," Streamwood Village Manager Gary O'Rourke said.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">As filling large vacant buildings can present a significant challenge for municipalities, officials view the reoccupation as a great success.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Converting the industrial site to one that will be handling food products required an extensive overhaul, part of which the village was involved in.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><img class="small-cropped-image" src="https://cdn.andnowuknow.com/legacySmallCroppedImages/chiquitafreshexpress022513.jpeg" alt="Croppedimages022513" /><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">"They have a significant need for water supply and sewer capacity," O'Rourke said of the new plant.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Because of the economic development the project is bringing, however, the village received a state grant of $500,000 that helped pay for a new water main to serve the new facility as well as others.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">A large part of the plant will be insulated and refrigerated to keep food fresh, maintaining a temperature of 34 degrees Fahrenheit.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">The company is in the process of preparing its first production line at the new plant, but the full transition from other sites is expected to take a few months, O'Rourke said.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href=" http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20130221/business/702219790/" target="_new">Fresh Express New Facility</a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
