AGA Foodservice Group, a British appliance company, announced plans to build a $6 million (€4.5 million) production facility in Cedar Rapids.
AGA, which makes high-end residential ranges and refrigerators and commercial appliances for restaurants and bakeries, expects to begin production in late 2007, company officials said.
Company executives began looking for a production site in the U.S. Midwest after buying Amana Commercial Microwaves from Whirlpool Corp. in September.
Whirlpool acquired the oven division when it bought out Maytag earlier in the year. Whirlpool began its search for a buyer immediately.
The project is contingent upon the approval of state and local financial assistance, including urban renewal property tax exemptions and funding from the Iowa Department of Economic Development.
Products manufactured at the plant will still carry the Amana name, said Iain Whyte, president of AGA Foodservice Inc.
“This new facility … will provide us with a platform to develop a world-leading business in the fast growing, accelerated cooking segment of the global food service industry.” Whyte said.
AGA, based in Solihull, England, is the latest international company to move into the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Technology Corridor. The corridor encompasses a seven-county region between the cities.
AGA reports sales revenue of more than $875 million (€659 million) and has 6,000 employees worldwide.