Fuchs North America, a leading maker of seasonings, flavor systems and taste solutions for the food manufacturing, retail and foodservice industries, held a grand opening ceremony for its new headquarters facilities on Friday, June 30 in Hampstead, Md.
The mid-morning ceremony was attended by more than 150 people, including Fuchs North America employees, representatives from state and local economic development agencies, elected officials and other dignitaries.
The ceremonial ribbon cutting was conducted by Dan Cooper, CEO of Fuchs North America, Nils Meyer-Pries, Global CEO of Fuchs Group (based in Germany), and Alexander Fuchs, CIO of the Fuchs Group. Official remarks were made by Cooper, Meyer-Pries and Fuchs, among others.
According to Cooper, planning for the new headquarters facility began about four years ago, as the company was successfully growing its business and reaching capacity at its Owings Mills facility. “The move to our new headquarters was driven by the need to be able to support continued growth. With this investment in our new state-of-the-art facility and equipment, we will more than double our annual capacity,” Cooper reported.
For over half a century, Fuchs North America was operated out of its headquarters offices in Owings Mills, Md. Despite several major expansions in the 1970s and again in the 1990s, the company outgrew the facility, with little ability to expand on the remaining ground.
The new headquarters in Hampstead is situated on a 21-acre campus and increases the company’s capacity and capabilities. “Hampstead was a logical choice for our move, given its proximity to Owings Mills, as well as the good quality workforce in Carroll County,” Cooper explained.
Additionally, the new headquarters includes a number of enhanced product development functions and capabilities, most notably expanded R&D test lab facilities encompassing a microbiology lab, a quality assurance lab, plus an entirely new sensory lab along with a spacious new presentation kitchen, conducive for on-site ideation with customers.
On the manufacturing side, new or expanded capabilities include mix manufacturing, spice milling and sterilization technologies, as well as packaging and warehousing featuring the latest stock picking and inventory management technologies.
Construction of Fuchs North America’s new headquarters facility was completed in late 2016.
About Fuchs North America
Fuchs North America is a leading producer and supplier of value-added seasonings, spices and flavor systems to the food manufacturing and foodservice industries. With a heritage that extends back more than 75 years, the company specializes in the development of full flavor systems, custom flavor profiles and seasoning products – including supporting some of the world’s largest and best-recognized food brands.
Fuchs North America’s seasoning specialists are experts in anticipating and identifying consumer trends – and converting them into successful flavor profiles. They work closely with food technologists and product development personnel at client companies to design distinctive, differentiated flavor systems. Fuchs products are made in a precision processing environment that ensures consistent, repeatable quality, order to order.
Since 1990, Fuchs North America has been part of the worldwide Fuchs Group, the largest privately-held spice and seasoning company in the industry. The Fuchs Group serves food manufacturing, foodservice and retail segments, backed by secure, quality sourcing plus state-of-the-art production facilities on four continents.