One of the largest food production companies in Mexico has announced plans to build facilities in El Paso.
The Chihuahua-based Grupo Bafar company wants to renovate and repurpose a building at 1600 E. 4th Street Avenue in the city’s El Segundo Barrio that has long served as a steel fabricating facility for the Kasco Structures company.
Grupo Bafar also wants to build a new 61,000 square-foot building that will house both warehouse and administrative space.
In a move to facilitate the plan, members of the El Paso City Council have now voted to approve a performance-based agreement with Grupo Bafar worth nearly $716,000. El Paso County Commission members, meanwhile, have given a thumbs-up to a $166,000 incentive agreement with the company.
For its part, Grupo Bafar will commit just over $21.3 million to both renovating the Kasco building as well as building the new structure.
According to city documents, the facilities on East 4th Street will become the company’s U.S. headquarters, with plans to “source 95% of their power from solar.”
Offering a wide variety of ham, smoked bacon, grilled sausage, and smoked bacon, among other items, Grupo Bafar has had a manufacturing presence in El Paso since 1987.
In a statement, Jorge Alberto Baeza Fares, chief executive officer of Grupo Bafar, said the company is “excited to grow our roots even deeper in El Paso.”
The company has proven particularly successful in getting its products onto the shelves of primarily Hispanic supermarkets in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado, among other states.
According to various sources, Grupo Bafar has enjoyed annual revenues in excess of $1 billion. A statement from the company said its third quarter growth this year was due to an ability to “adapt to market challenges,” while also highlighting an “ongoing commitment to excellence and innovation in the food sector.”
By Garry Boulard
