Gerber announces new baby food packaging line

With help from Lt. Governor Win Rockefeller, Gerber Products Company announced a $65 million expansion project at it's Fort Smith Plant.

With help from Lt. Governor Win Rockefeller, Gerber Products Company announced a $65 million expansion project at it's Fort Smith Plant. A new line will open up, workers will now be packaging baby food in plastic containers along with the regular jar containers. But before that can happen the Fort Smith Gerber Plant has to get prepared. Plant officials say the money will be used to make renovations, buy new equipment for manufacturing the plastic containers and providing more specialized training for workers.

Unlike the glass jar lines, the new plastic line will eventually run 24-hours a day 7-days a week using more advanced technology. "This equipment which makes the plastic packages is a total different way of manufacturing than we do now with the jars," says Tim Strong with Gerber.

The Fort Smith Plant is only the second Gerber Plant to implement the plastic line. Plant officials say they expect to hire more employees down the road.