DENMARK − One of Wisconsin’s hidden treasures, Salm Partners is the nation’s largest co-manufacturer of sausage and hot dog products.
The company’s cook-in-package method ensures efficiency, quality and safety, according to the company, as the technology and process they use eliminates microbiological risks and produces 15% of the fully cooked sausage for all its partners nationwide.
In 18 years, the company went from a 25,000-square-foot facility to a total of 200,000 square feet divided into three locations: two in Wisconsin and one in Alabama. In 2019, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation helped with a tax credit for the construction of the second factory at 625 Hager Road in Denmark.
Now Salm Partners is looking to move the factory in Alabama to Wisconsin, add more production lines and hire more personnel to continue to grow and meet customer demand.
“Our plans are to continue to build capacity so that our customers know they can count on us for their continued growth and keep supplying great products for them,” said Keith Lindsay, president and CEO of Salm Partners. “What we’re ecstatic about in Denmark and northeastern Wisconsin is we’ve got a great workforce, and we’ve got a lot of local contractors and tradespeople to work with on our additions. We’re very confident in our ability to expand and grow here in northeastern Wisconsin.”
Founded by brothers Joe, Pete, Mark and Chris Salm in Denmark in 2004, with little over 100 employees, the factory has since grown to more than 700 jobs and produces more than 160 million pounds per year for a number of national brands and retailers.
The latest expansion to the factory at Hager Road came at a cost of $35 million and was completed with the support of the WEDC.
The company is now eligible for another tax credit of $950,000 in three years, according to Sam Rikkers, deputy secretary of the WEDC.
“We are trying to help companies like Salm Partners who are some of the best-kept secrets in Wisconsin, to keep growing,” Rikkers said. “(This way) we keep supporting communities like Denmark and the broader Green Bay Area.”
The actual amount of tax credits Salm receives will depend on the number of jobs created. The project is expected to create 193 jobs over the next three years.
“In a state known for its great sausage-making tradition, you’d be forgiven if you didn’t immediately recognize the Salm name,” said Missy Hughes, WEDC secretary and CEO in a press release. “That’s because Salm doesn’t have its own brand and instead provides quality products to be sold under its customers’ brands.”
The release also notes that an economic modeling study estimates the project could indirectly generate 335 additional jobs in the region. Those projected 528 new jobs are expected to generate over one million in state income tax revenue over a five-year period.
Rikkers said the WEDC is proud to continue its partnership with the company and help them expand and grow.
“It’s really great for communities like Denmark to have a company like them, (because) they invest in the local charities, churches, they are part of the community,” he said.
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Ariel Perez is a business reporter for the Green Bay Press-Gazette. You can reach him at APerez1@gannett.com or view his Twitter profile at @Ariel_Perez85
