An Italian filled-pasta company founded in 1882 is setting up shop in a St. Charles, Missouri, industrial building that sat empty just months ago after a major food manufacturer walked away. Bertagni 1882 plans to build a $36.4 million food manufacturing facility at 3850 Millstone Parkway, according to First Alert 4, marking the company's first-ever U.S. manufacturing operation.
The site is not a blank slate. General Mills Operations LLC permanently closed its pizza crust plant there in June, laying off 163 workers under a WARN notice filed in April, according to KSDK. Bertagni 1882 USA Inc., a subsidiary of Madrid-based Ebro Foods, completed the purchase of the 102,000-square-foot facility on July 1 for roughly €40 million, or about $43.5 million, per corporate filings from Ebro Foods.
Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe praised the move, saying the state's central location, agricultural foundation, and logistics infrastructure make it an ideal home for global brands, according to First Alert 4. Bertagni currently sells filled pasta products across five continents through stores and retailers, and the new St. Charles plant will let the company introduce fresh meat-filled pasta lines locally while shoring up its North American supply chain, according to PR Newswire. Bertagni previously imported its products from Italy to serve North American retailers, per the same release.
A $35 Million Bet on Filling the Jobs Gap
To land the project, the city of St. Charles authorized $35 million in Chapter 100 industrial revenue bonds along with roughly $4.5 million in local tax incentives, including a 20-year, 50% property tax abatement and sales tax exemptions on equipment purchases, according to urbanSTL. St. Charles Mayor Dan Borgmeyer said the city worked hard to become the strongest choice for the project, adding that St. Charles aims to create an environment where companies can invest, grow, and succeed, per First Alert 4.
Under the local project agreements, Bertagni must employ at least 70 workers at the facility by 2029 and scale up to 150 jobs by 2034 across two operational phases, according to urbanSTL. First Alert 4 reports the new facility will create over 150 new jobs, per the city's news release, a figure that roughly offsets the positions lost when General Mills exited the site. Financial disclosures from Ebro Foods indicate the St. Charles site already has the physical capacity to triple its output as demand grows.
A World's Fair Connection More Than a Century Later
Bertagni's roots run deep. Founded in Bologna, Italy, in 1882 by brothers Luigi and Ferdinando Bertagni, the company is considered Italy's oldest filled pasta manufacturer, according to PR Newswire. Bertagni also holds an early historical tie to Missouri, having won a gold medal for its filled pasta at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair — giving the new investment a 122-year link back to the region.
Economic Development Council of St. Charles County executive Scott Drachnik said Bertagni's expansion reflects the strength of the local workforce and the city's business-friendly environment, according to First Alert 4. The project was developed through a collaborative effort involving city officials, county officials, Bertagni, the Missouri Department of Economic Development, and other groups, First Alert 4 reports. That recruitment effort also included the Missouri Partnership, Missouri One Start, Greater St. Louis Inc., Spire, and Ameren, according to PR Newswire.
Part of a Growing Manufacturing Cluster
St. Charles County already hosts multiple manufacturers operating in food, aerospace, and plastics markets, per First Alert 4. The county has built an industrial cluster spanning food processing, aerospace, automotive, and plastics manufacturing, supported by regional access to interstate highways, rail lines, river ports, and air cargo facilities, according to the St. Louis Regional Freightway.
Missouri officials say the state will partner with Bertagni as the company builds out its American footprint, and the new facility is expected to grow St. Charles County's standing as a hub for advanced manufacturing, according to First Alert 4. For a community that lost 163 jobs to a shuttered pizza-crust plant just months ago, the arrival of an Italian pasta maker with a 144-year history offers a concrete, if gradual, path back toward those employment numbers.
