(Danville, Va.) — With today’s announcement from Governor Ralph Northam that Litehouse Inc. will establish its first East Coast production facility in the Airside Industrial Park, the City of Danville will be home to two leaders in their respective sectors of the food industry.

Litehouse is joining Nestle USA, which also is located in Airside Industrial Park.

“We’re so excited to welcome the national brand Litehouse to our community,” Danville Mayor Alonzo Jones said. “Strategically, we have wanted to build a food processing base in Danville because of the unused capacity Danville Utilities has in water and wastewater infrastructure. With Litehouse joining Nestle, we now have two leaders in the food industry.”

Litehouse produces and markets refrigerated salad dressings, cheeses, dips, sauces, apple cider, and freeze-dried herbs under the Litehouse label. The products are sold through supermarkets, including stores in Danville, and warehouse clubs in the U.S. and Canada. Litehouse also supplies dressings and other products to foodservice distributors and restaurants.

With five manufacturing facilities in Idaho, Utah, and Michigan, Litehouse will establish its first East Coast production facility by investing $46 million to acquire and expand Sky Valley Foods at 145 Cane Creek Blvd. in the Airside Industrial Park. Sky Valley Foods has produced natural and organic sauces and salad dressings at the facility for nearly five years.

Litehouse will retain Sky Valley Foods employees and create an additional 160 new jobs over the next five years. The jobs will include entry-level positions as well as management level roles requiring previous operational and technical experience.