Signature Foods USA’s First U.S. Plant Opens in Easley, Bringing 202 Jobs and a Dutch Food Giant to Pickens County

EASLEY, S.C. — A Netherlands-based specialty food maker has quietly begun production at its first U.S. facility on Pine Road, a $11.5 million investment that state and county officials say cements Pickens County’s growing reputation as a landing spot for food and beverage manufacturing.

Signature Foods USA, a division of Netherlands-based Signature Foods, is now operating out of a plant at 211 Pine Road in Easley, where it produces refrigerated dips, spreads and other prepared foods sold in grocery store deli sections. The company, headquartered in New York City, chose Anderson County-area Easley over other Southeastern sites after what CEO Peter Dornbos called “a long selection process.” The investment is expected to create 202 new jobs as hiring ramps up.

“We believe that this location in Easley will be the foundation for the long-term growth of our business in the U.S.,” Dornbos said in a statement announcing the project. “We would like to thank all people, companies and government officials involved in this project for their support.”

The Coordinating Council for Economic Development approved job development credits for the project and awarded a $400,000 Set-Aside grant to Anderson County to help cover building improvements and wastewater pre-treatment system upgrades tied to the facility. Gov. Henry McMaster and Secretary of Commerce Harry M. Lightsey III both pointed to the project as evidence the Upstate’s food and beverage sector continues to draw international investment even as manufacturers elsewhere in the region focus on automotive, solar and data center projects.

“By selecting Upstate SC to prepare its premium food products, Signature Foods USA is validating that our region has the right ingredients for global food and beverage companies to succeed,” said John Lummus, president and CEO of the Upstate SC Alliance. “We look forward to seeing them grow in the Upstate.”

For commercial real estate professionals, the project adds another data point to a Pickens County industrial market that has been absorbing space quickly as manufacturers and distributors look beyond Greenville and Spartanburg counties for available land and lower costs. Food and beverage processors in particular have gravitated toward the Easley area in recent years, drawing on the region’s highway access to I-85 and a labor pool that has expanded alongside residential growth in northern Anderson and Pickens counties. State Agriculture Commissioner Hugh Weathers said the plant will also give South Carolina farmers a new potential buyer, noting the facility “will not only expand South Carolina’s agribusiness industry, but will also provide opportunities to add value to foods grown by South Carolina farmers.”

Anderson County Councilman Jimmy Davis said the jobs tied to the project will be felt directly in the northern part of the county. “We are honored by their investment, and we are especially encouraged by the addition of good-paying jobs that will directly benefit families in Northern Anderson County,” Davis said. “This project represents meaningful, long-term opportunity for our community.”

Individuals interested in joining the Signature Foods USA team can contact the company’s human resources manager, Corderiette Calhoun, through the company’s careers channels. The Easley plant marks Signature Foods’ first manufacturing footprint in the United States and is expected to serve as a base for further American expansion by the Dutch parent company.