Dive Brief:
- Morton Salt is closing down all production and warehouse operations at its Elston Avenue facility in Chicago, which first opened in the 1920s, next month.
- Morton said that "a comprehensive study determined that its customers would be better served from other sites in its network," Food Manufacturing reported.
- The shutdown will affect 23 employees.
Dive Insight:
Morton is exploring "all possibilities related to the future of the property and the infrastructure upon it," according to the company
"The company plans to maintain some presence there and isn't willing to say for certain whether it will sell the 4.5-acre parcel to one of the many developers circling the area for buildings to repurpose and land to redevelop. The property is in a planned manufacturing district," the Chicago Tribune reported.
Morton was founded in Chicago and doesn't seem to want to stray far from its home city, despite this decision. The company announced in June that it had signed a lease agreement to move its Chicago headquarters to the new River Point tower currently being built in Chicago's West Loop.