North Baltimore beef production plant for McDonald's in top shape

NORTH BALTIMORE - Millions and millions shipped.

Every day.

If you've eaten a double cheeseburger, Angus burger, or other ground-beef sandwich at a McDonald's restaurant in the Midwest or Northeast, there is a good chance it was produced at a plant operated by Pennsylvania-based Keystone Foods LLC near North Baltimore. The Wood County village of 3,400 is 40 miles south of Toledo.

"We produce about four million patties a day," said Andrew Kornick, vice president and general manager of the Keystone facility.

The plant in Bloom Township is one of three that grinds, shapes, and freezes beef patties for McDonald's in the United States, according to a chain spokesman in suburban Chicago.

As plants across northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan have ground up jobs in recent years, the Keystone Foods operation has skated through the recession with a steady 340 workers. Eighty-five percent are hourly workers represented by United Food & Commercial Workers Local 75 in Cincinnati.

"In this day and age when you hear about plants shutting down, it is good to hear about a long-time dependable, employer," said Thomas Blaha, executive director of the Wood County Economic Development Commission in Bowling Green.

Keystone received the economic development organization's corporate citizen of the year award last month.

Keystone, based in West Conshohocken, Pa., near Philadelphia, opened the local plant in 1974 because of the area's solid labor force and proximity to I-75 and other major transportation routes, Mr. Kornick said.

The factory is part of a low-key, privately held food processing empire with more than $2 billion in annual sales, according to industry publications and firms that track corporate revenues.

Keystone also owns Toledo-based M&M Restaurant Supply, a distributor formed by different owners in the 1960s to serve McDonald's.

The North Baltimore manager attributes his plant's success to product innovations by its lone customer. New offerings such as McDonald's premium Angus burgers and Mac Snack Wrap have helped keep machinery humming for 36 years, he said. The North Baltimore operation underwent a major expansion in 2005 when it doubled to 105,000 square feet.

Each day, 40 tractor-trailers bring in beef cuts, primarily from the western United States. The plant uses no fillers or beef by-products, the manager said.

It processes nearly 1 million pounds of meat daily. That roughly translates to 4 million burgers each day.

The plant operates on two shifts, with overnight hours used for maintenance.

Mr. Kornick joined Keystone as a maintenance manager at a plant in Philadelphia 37 years ago.

With warm weather approaching, the plant is gearing up for its busiest time of the year.

"Our business is somewhat cyclical," Mr. Kornick explained. "The summer months are better for us because everybody is out and moving around. As we get into the colder months, our volumes somewhat drop off. But we keep the same number of people all year."

Contact Gary Pakulski at:

gpakulski@theblade.com

or 419-724-6082.

41.18107 -83.67905

Andrew Kornick, vice president and general manager of Keystone Foods LLC near North Baltimore, says the plant's success can be attributed to McDonald's Corp.'s innovations in its product line. JETTA FRASER Enlarge

Millions and millions shipped. Every day. If you've eaten a double cheeseburger, Angus burger, or other ground-beef sandwich at a McDonald's restaurant in the Midwest or Northeast, there is a good chance it was produced at a plant operated by Pennsylvania-based Keystone Foods LLC near North Baltimore. The Wood County village of 3,400 is 40 miles south of Toledo.