Edesia to Cut Ribbon for New Factory in Quonset

NORTH KINGSTOWN, RI—Fast-growing Edesia is cutting the ribbon to its new 83,000 square-foot manufacturing facility in Quonset Business Park on Monday.

Governor Gina Raimondo and the state's congressional delegation is expected to attend the morning ceremony.

Edesia, a nonprofit that specializes in the manufacture of ready-to-use foods is credited with stemming malnutrition around the world with their high-nutrition, easy-to-transport products.

The company is best known for its Plumpy'Nut peanut-based high-energy food. One packet is enough to fully treat one child suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

According to a fact sheet released by the company, Edesia is the largest producer of peanut-based ready-to-use foods in the country.

The company claims to have reached 4 million malnourished children across 47 countries, with 900,000 reached in 2015 alone.

The company employs 70 full time workers and has an operating budget of $29 million, 15 percent of which is spent on wages and benefits.

Edesia announced that it had signed a 25-year lease to build the new factory in Quonset in 2014.

"Edesia is happy to have found a home for our new state-of-the-art factory in Quonset Business Park. Having a location that was site-ready was critical in our decision to make the move from Providence," said Navyn Salem, Edesia's Executive Director. "The faster we build, the more quickly we can meet the growing demands of our humanitarian partners, such as UNICEF, the World Food Programme, and USAID/USDA. In our new facility, not only will we reach two million malnourished children each year, we will also focus on the innovation of new products that reach more vulnerable people abroad and right here in Rhode Island."

Watch a time lapse video of the construction below, courtesy Campanelli Construction: