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Soy sauce manufacturer San-J International, Inc. has doubled the size of its Henrico facility with a $60-million investment. The company produces a variety of sauces, crackers, soups and other items.
The company announced in early 2015 that it would be investing $38 million in the expansion project and creating 18 new jobs as a result. Virginia competed with Oregon for the location. Then-Gov. Terry McAuliffe met with San-J officials during a trip to Tokyo in 2014.
San-Jirushi was founded by the Sato family as a tamari sauce and miso company in 1804 in Mie, Japan. The company began brewing the first tamari from its Henrico facility in 1987. The plant employed 55 people at the time of the 2015 announcement.
Among the enhancements provided by the expansion:
• 60,000 square feet of new space;
• a 120-bottle-per-minute canning line (the current capacity is 60 bottles/minute);
• 10 new 36,000-gallon fermentation tanks with room for an additional 30 (existing tanks include 50 10,000-gallon tanks and 40 20-gallon tanks);
• two new presses (bringing the total to three);
• a new Muro tank (bringing the total to two);
• an oversized cooker (bringing the total to three);
• new administration offices.
