A private-label producer of powdered beverages in Columbus has opened new warehouse space and, as promised, added employees to its workforce.
Tipton Mills Foods did a ribbon cutting and opened nearly 45,000-square-feet of new warehouse space at 835 S. Mapleton St. on Wednesday.
Company officials said the employee count has increased from 30 to 70 workers, with more workers to be hired in the coming months, according to co-owner and CEO David Harding.
“We are going to be hiring another 20 employees to handle new high-speed lines that will be installed within the next couple of months,” Harding said during the warehouse ribbon cutting ceremony.
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While the starting wage at Tipton Mills is at $13 an hour, employees can rapidly increase their wages as they develop new job skills, Harding said.
Prior to the ceremony, a number of company executives reminded visitors the size of the addition is so large that the entire former plant could fit inside the new warehouse, Harding said.
Tipton Mills is a private-label producer of powdered beverages containing special attributes manufactured for companies that brand their products, according to Tim McCreery, vice-president of sales and marketing.
Some marquee brand names that sell products manufactured by Tipton Mills include Godiva, Gevalia, Velvet Cocoa, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and Maxwell House.
During Wednesday’s ceremony, Harding got a good laugh from the audience after noting his company makes both rich Godiva chocolate drinks and Slim Fast diet beverages.
“We like to say we can help you put the weight on — and we can help you take it off again,” Harding said.
Before Tipton Mills built the new warehouse, the company was storing different ingredients in four different warehouses stretching from Indianapolis to Chicago, said operation supply chain executive Bob Stiles.
“It was a struggle getting the ingredients you need from each warehouse at the right time to supply the customer,” Stiles said. “But now, everything will be here.”
The company now has nine production lines, and the additional three to four that will be installed within a few months will increase the amount of product going out.
“That will allow us to more than double our output,” Stiles said.
What makes the rapid growth of Tipton Mills so significant is that the company represents a type of industry that produces food, rather than automotive-related parts, Columbus mayor Jim Lienhoop said.
“This diversifies our economy and provides a different type of employment for people with different skills,” Lienhoop said.
The rapid growth of the company in southeast Columbus is also a good sign for potential future prosperity along and near the State Street corridor, the mayor said.
Harding thanked several people — especially the employees — for helping the company grow, and also gave special recognition to Columbus Container Inc. founder Bob Haddad for his mentorship and support.
Haddad, who has owned the building now occupied by Tipton Mills for several years, recalls that when the facility first opened in 1991, it was known as Instant Products of America, Inc., which was owned by the Kruger Company in Germany.
Over the past 28 years, the food manufacturer has gone through several owners, but this is the first time the building has ever been expanded, Haddad said.
Since Tipton Mills Foods has just invested $4 million on the expansion, Haddad said workers can feel they have a better sense of long-term job security.
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Tipton Mills Foods was formed in 2015 from the purchases of equipment assets of Buffalo Blends Inc. and Tipton Mills LLC by Trinity Companies LLC, according to the company’s tax abatement application filed with the city of Columbus.
After acquiring a manufacturing facility at 835 S. Mapleton St., Tipton Mills was granted a tax abatement from the city in February 2018, with a commitment to invest $2.4 million in property improvements and an additional $2 million investment in new equipment involving packaging.
Using modern technology, Tipton Mills creates custom blends of food and beverage powders. Their products include coffees, cocoas, nutritional supplements, fibers, proteins syrups and other specialties.
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