Great Lakes Growers increasing production capacity to 260,000 square feet

Great Lakes Growers, a state-of-the-art hydroponic greenhouse facility that grows leafy greens and herbs in Burton, Ohio, has announced it has broken ground on another 100,000-square-foot expansion on the heels of completing its most recent 80,000-square-foot expansion that began just one year ago. Once completed, the expansion will increase its growing capacity to 260,000 square feet and bring annual pesticide and herbicide free production capacity to 12,000,000 heads annually.

“Our mission at Great Lakes Growers continues to be providing the cleanest, freshest, healthiest leafy greens and herbs on the market at a price that is affordable to the consumer,” said John Bonner, owner and CEO of Great Lakes Growers. “This most recent expansion project is a real testament to the acceptance of our new fresh cut salad line at retailers across the Midwest and the continued adoption of our food service lines. Fresh produce that is grown locally is not a flash in the pan; it is here to stay. We are blessed with very loyal customers and also have added many brand-new ones over the last few months. Our growth is tied directly to the changing preference of the end user for fresh, clean and local products and our customers wisely recognize this trend. We are expanding our offering to match that demand and we expect exponential growth to continue over the next half decade and probably well beyond that.”

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Bonner continued, “One thing that is paramount for us is to never sacrifice product quality or consumer safety. It has been a foundational pillar of our company. The fact is our commitment to attaining and maintaining our 100% Food Safety Rating is as high as it has ever been. The first expansion we began last year allowed us to invest in even more technology for water sanitation and monitoring to reduce the risk of foodborne illness, which is still a huge concern in the marketplace. This new expansion will allow us to further automate and scale the operation. We also will now be able to streamline our cooling, harvesting and packing processes to further mitigate the risk of foodborne illness to our customers while continuing to deliver the freshest produce in the Midwest.”

Construction commenced in November 2019 and is expected to be completed in November 2020. Great Lakes Growers has also cleared and leveled an additional 6 acres of land at its Ohio site in anticipation of its next expansion commencing in late 2020. Total facility size for its Ohio location will max out at approximately 10 acres.