$7 million expansion for Barker Company

Barker Company, Ltd announced plans to open an additional 50,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Centerville. This third facility will compliment the Company’s other manufacturing facilities in Centerville and Keosauqua.

“This expansion is in response to rapidly increasing demand for our standard, specialty and custom fresh food merchandisers” stated Pat McMahon, president of Barker Company.

“In the past several years we’ve introduced several successful new products which have increased our sales by roughly 20 percent each year. The company’s growth is fueled both by new product introductions and improved market share with existing products” continued McMahon.

The new $7 million facility is expected to open in the spring of 2008. Barker will utilize state of the art mill working, paint and sheet metal equipment to assist in the expansion of the company’s custom food bar and wood working business segments. The new facility will more than double the company’s production capacity for those products.

The Company expects to add 140 employees to its current workforce of 650 employees over the next 18 months. Approximately 40 of the new employees will work in its existing Centerville facility and 100 in the new facility. The Company’s average wage including benefits is in excess of $22 per hour.

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