Lone Star Western Beef has moved north from West Virginia to a new plant in Muhlenberg Township.
Company founder J.P. Bachman says the beef-jerky maker “chose Reading for a multitude of reasons, including reasonably priced real estate, easy access to a large portion of the U.S. population and a large workforce, to name a few.”
According to Bachman, the company searched for a new location for nearly three years after reaching production capacity at its West Virginia plant. The new 9,000-square-foot facility, located in an existing building, had most of the necessary infrastructure, “so in terms of fit-out, only processing rooms were required to meet USDA standards which kept our cost fairly low,” he explains.
Bachman, an avid outdoorsman and chef who made a mean venison jerky, founded Lone Star 18 years ago thanks to the persistent encouragement of friends and family. The company’s products are made without MSG, nitrites or preservatives and are “packed with protein and a flavor profile that goes on for days,” according to its website.
Today, Lone Star products are sold online, at the plant and at over 10,000 retail locations around the country. The company employs 14 and expects to add 21 jobs at the new plant.
“We plan to continue to expand as much as possible,” insists Bachman. “That being said, we are a family-owned company so our growth has to be done with purpose and in small steps. We just added two new…smokehouses that significantly increase our capacity and with them we plan to expand our existing product line.”
Source: J.P. Bachman, Lone Star Western Beef
Writer: Elise Vider