La Moderna to set up pasta processing plant in Cleburne

Mexico-based food company La Moderna is building a new plant in Cleburne that could potentially create hundreds of jobs in the area.

The company is setting up the pasta processing plant near the Chisholm Trail Parkway that was opened this summer.

The decision of setting up the plant in Cleburne was taken after considering other locations like Fort Worth, Dallas and Houston. The Johnson County location in Cleburne will be the first plant for the company to be set up in the US.

Speaking about long-term customer goals, Jorge Antolin Navarrete, who will be overseeing the project, said: "To be able to obtain those [customers] who recognise our brand from Mexico and those who are second generation Hispanics, third generation Hispanic and the American population that has not been familiarised with us."

The plant will be set up in an industrial area and built across an area of 16.5 acres. Construction of the plant is expected to create hundreds of jobs and the plant, once open, will employ about 80 people.

Cleburne Mayor Scott Cain was quoted by DFW as saying: "A lot of European manufacturers are leaving Europe because of the cost of doing business. We are working very diligently to capture a lot of those businesses and show them [not only] how we do things in Texas but right here in Cleburne."

However, Cain said it was too early to go in details about the companies that the city is trying to recruit.

The construction on the La Moderna pasta plant will begin later this year and it is expected to start operation in two years.