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Augusta has been magical for Bush Brothers Beans
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| A conveyor belt moves rows of cans toward packaging at the Bush's Baked Beans plant in Augusta. The Tennessee-based company is making a major commitment to the Eau Claire County small town with a 23,000 square-foot expansion. Photos by Jeffrey Hage.
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In fairy-tale lore, Jack planted a seed that grew a giant beanstalk that reached into the heavens. Beans, it seemed, carried a certain kind of magic.
In the eastern Eau Claire County community of Augusta, a simple bean is creating its own kind of magic. But Bush Brothers isn't growing a big beanstalk.
Instead, the Knoxville, Tenn.-based company is planting the seeds for a $12.5 million expansion project that will turn a sleepy bedroom community in the middle of Amish country into one of the leading bean producers in the world.
Bush Brothers announced this fall that its Augusta plant, built in 1962, will undergo a 23,000-square-foot expansion in 2005 that will dramatically increase its production space. Plans also call for a new employee center and meeting facility.
These plans come shortly after Bush put the finishing touches on a 36,000-square-foot addition that increased its warehousing and shipping capabilities, said Joe Breid, plant manager. The expansion included the addition of a rail spur inside the warehouse. Besides increasing productivity while loading cargo, it will also cut Bush's shipping costs, by allowing it to directly ship product to the West Coast via rail.
None of this would be possible if not for a decision made a decade ago.
Bush Brothers was in the midst of consolidation. The seven plants it operated around the country 20 years earlier had been reduced to three -- a sauerkraut plant in Shiocton, Wis., the flagship plant in Chestnut Hill, Tenn., and the Augusta plant.
"We were faced with a decision to make: shut down or grow," Breid said.
The company chose the latter route. It embarked on a plan to reconfigure the Augusta plant and add automated cooking, canning, and packaging equipment.
"In 10 years, we went from a seasonal business shipping two million cases of baked beans to a year-round business shipping 9.1 million cases," Breid said.
Under the old production line, cans were filled and packed by hand, and the plant could move 250 cans per minute. Today, the new production line fills 750 cans per minute and automatically packs and sends them to the warehouse.
"If we hadn't done that 10 years ago, we wouldn't be here today," Breid said.
And if it wasn't for the popularity of black beans in the western United States, Bush wouldn't be in Augusta talking about expansion.
The company started in 1908 in Chestnut Hill, Tenn., as a tomato processor. It later turned to processing dog food and sweet potatoes before focusing completely on beans.
In the early 1960s, Bush Brothers was in the vegetable business and it bought the Augusta facility to process green beans. Ironically, green beans never entered the plant. But peas and other vegetables grown in the Augusta area, Chippewa County, Alma Center and Minnesota did.
Pork and beans were a popular product of the time. Bush was the nation's fourth-ranked producer of the beans, behind Van Camps, Campbell's and Heinz.
In 1969, Condon Bush turned the bean industry upside down when he invented the baked bean.
Soon, Bush's sales of beans outpaced those of the other three companies combined. And in 1980, when Bush added varieties to its one flavor of baked beans, sales exploded.
Baked beans with onions, maple syrup, and barbecue sauce were taking the nation by storm. Bold and spicy, homestyle, Boston, and vegetarian varieties were also a hit.
As baked bean sales went through the roof, so did the need for more production. Bush attained its goal of becoming the No. 1 baked bean producer in the country. Today, it accounts for 80 percent of the nation's baked bean market, Breid said. It also holds top sales positions for its kidney, Garbanzo, pinto, and Great Northern beans that are produced at the plant, as well as black-eyed peas.
With about 130 employees and an estimated 25 more to be added after the plant expands, Bush Brothers fully expects Augusta to become the black bean capital of the world. Bush will unveil a new processing technology to produce this new product, Breid said.
"Expansion was necessary because with the black bean, you use a different process from the others in order to maintain the color and texture of the bean," he said.
By the time the new production line is complete, Bush will employee three production shifts and three shipping shifts 24 hours per day, as well as two labeling shifts, Breid said.
Making the commitment to expand at Augusta was an easy decision for Bush to make, Breid said.
"We already had a plant here with good, strong leadership in place," he said. "We had the room to expand, a good workforce and a good relationship with a city ready and willing to look at TIF financing and road infrastructures."
Good roads and the availability of rail service running through its warehouse also played a role in Augusta landing the project, because 20 percent of Bush's product now ships to distribution centers in Dallas and Nevada via railroad lines, Breid said.
The expansion is also part of Bush's plans to prepare for the future.
"We believe you always have to be looking forward. You have to stop and take a look at tomorrow, today," Breid said.
With that philosophy in mind, Bush recently completed an $80 million expansion of its Chestnut Hill, Tenn., facility and invested $15 million into its research and development institute at the corporate headquarters in Knoxville.
"We've invested heavily for the future," Breid said. "In the '90s we spent money on marketing and building the brand. Now that we built the brand, we're building our infrastructure."
Bush Brothers is also investing in its people.
"In the next five years, we anticipate more great products, but you can't get there without great people," Breid said. "We're hiring for the future, not just the jobs we have today."
The company realizes the importance the workforce has in the success of its products. That's why the new expansion includes the new employee facility that incorporates new locker rooms, break rooms, offices and meeting rooms into the Bush complex.
"All the pieces are in place moving this company forward in Augusta," Breid said.
Jeffrey Hage is a reporter for the Chippewa Herald. Contact the Chippewa Valley Business Report at (715) 723-5515 or through www.chippewavalleybusinessreport.com.
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