Ayer just leveled up its tofu game in a big way. Nasoya’s tofu plant has cut the ribbon on a $55 million expansion that company officials say turns the facility into the world’s largest single tofu production line, dramatically increasing output and adding regional manufacturing jobs. The project adds roughly 65,000 square feet to the site and brings the plant close to 200,000 square feet overall, boosting daily production capacity and widening its distribution footprint. Alongside the promises of new hires and fuller grocery shelves, the plant’s history of odor complaints and state enforcement is also back in the conversation.
Big boost and what it produces
According to the company, the $55 million buildout adds nearly 65,000 square feet and gives the Ayer site capacity to produce roughly 400,000 pounds of tofu per day, which Nasoya says is the equivalent of more than 2.1 million servings. KS Cho, Market CEO at Pulmuone Foods USA, called the opening “an exciting milestone” as the company looks to expand its retail and food-service distribution. Those details and the company’s statement were outlined in a press release from PR Newswire.
Inside the world's largest line
On a recent tour, managers walked visitors through a tightly timed, mostly mechanized operation. Soybeans soak for up to 14 hours, then cook and curd for about 20 minutes before the tofu is pressed and pasteurized on fixed cycles. Plant managers said the operation is roughly 70 percent automated, that an X-ray machine examines every piece for metal or plastic, and that the line can turn out about 9,000 tofu pieces an hour, or roughly 123 million pieces a year. Those operational details and the headcount noted during the tour were reported by the Worcester Telegram.
Jobs and local impact
Pulmuone says the expansion increases staffing by roughly 20 percent and will help scale Nasoya’s coast-to-coast supply chain into major retailers and food-service accounts. Company materials say tofu drives a large share of Pulmuone USA’s sales and that the investment will support new product rollouts and exports. Local officials joined company executives at the event and framed the project as an investment in U.S. manufacturing and the regional economy, according to PR Newswire.
Odors and the company's record with regulators
The economic upside comes with a history that neighbors have not forgotten. MassDEP issued a 2017 consent order and multiple penalty demands after residents and local boards confirmed hydrogen-sulfide-type odors from the plant. “The company must operate without creating a condition of air pollution,” MassDEP officials said in a statement, and the agency has cited the plant in recent enforcement notices, according to MassDEP. State enforcement summaries also show MassDEP assessed about $19,092 in 2022 for hazardous-waste violations tied to shipments of roughly 150 gallons of material; those findings were reproduced in reporting and enforcement summaries such as the one at Regional Associations.
What's next
Pulmuone says the Ayer line is designed to meet growing consumer demand for plant-based proteins and to reinforce both U.S. distribution and export capacity. The company traces Nasoya’s U.S. history back decades and presents the Ayer investment as part of a broader manufacturing expansion, according to company materials on Nasoya.
