GEA is investing $25 million in the expansion of its plant in Janesville, Wisconsin
Expanded capacity for manufacturing, testing, training, and customer applications in the food and beverage processing industry
The Janesville City Council has approved a development agreement with GEA: The technology group is expanding its facility in Wisconsin, thereby strengthening its local production and technology base for customers in the food, beverage, and nutrition industries in North America. The plan calls for approximately 6,500 square meters of additional space for offices, manufacturing, research, and industrial applications—with an investment of about 25 million U.S. dollars in buildings and technical equipment. The facility is scheduled to begin operations in early 2028. The expansion will increase local production and technology capacities for customers in the food, beverage, and nutrition industries in North America.
Manufacturing, Testing, and Application Engineering Under One Roof
The expansion will bring manufacturing, assembly, and application engineering closer together at the site. For customers, this means: direct access to GEA experts on-site, shorter paths from test results to production decisions—and fewer bottlenecks when moving from the lab to the industrial plant.
New Infrastructure for Core Technologies
The focus is on GEA Nutrition Plant Engineering’s portfolio, particularly drying technologies. The new infrastructure also provides space for customer and internal training as well as application-specific testing.
“Food and beverage manufacturers in North America are looking for partners who combine process expertise and hands-on testing with reliable project execution in the region,” said Klaus Stojentin, CEO of the Nutrition Plant Engineering Division and a member of the GEA Executive Board. “We are responding to this with the expansion in Janesville. We are strengthening our expertise in a region that is strategically important for our customers and for GEA.”
Expansion on a Solid Foundation
The Janesville site already brings together several operational and technology areas: In 2024, GEA opened a facility there for production, repair, logistics, and training—including for separators, decanters, valves, and pumps. In 2025, the Application and Technology Center of Excellence for New Food and Biotechnology was added. There, food manufacturers can test processes on a pilot scale, such as precision fermentation, cell cultivation, and plant-based applications. The current expansion builds on this foundation.
“Our customers don’t just want us to be close to them—they want us to drive progress right on-site,” says Ana Rusu, Vice President of Nutrition Plant Engineering for North America. “In Janesville, a process can be managed from the initial test phase all the way through to the production plan without having to switch teams or locations. That’s exactly what makes this expansion special: fewer hand-offs, more progress in a single visit.”
Strengthening Local Production and Technology
With its investment in Janesville, GEA is advancing its strategy to expand local production and technology capabilities in strategically important markets. The project underscores the company’s long-term commitment to the U.S. food and beverage industry as well as to customers throughout the Americas.
The local economy in Janesville also benefits from the expansion: The development agreement with the city is tied to the creation of 52 jobs. According to city officials, with this expansion, GEA will have invested approximately $75 million in Janesville since the first Tax Increment Financing (TIF) program in 2022.
Note: This article has been translated using a computer system without human intervention. LUMITOS offers these automatic translations to present a wider range of current news. Since this article has been translated with automatic translation, it is possible that it contains errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. The original article in German can be found here.
Other news from the department business & finance
