Golden Boy Foods in Troy broke ground Thursday on a 45,000-square-foot expansion that will provide additional production space and warehousing for its peanut butter products. The expansion will double the plant’s capacity, making it the second largest in the company’s network.

Troy Mayor Jason A. Reeves said the expansion is due to the long and hard work by Golden Boy Foods, the Troy City Council, Pike County Economic Development Corp. and the Troy Industrial Development Board. He expressed appreciation to Golden Boy President Jack Warden and Plant Manager Robert Jacobs for their efforts in the growth of Golden Boy Foods in Troy.

Warden said that, since 1895, the commitment of Post Foods has been to provide safe, high-quality good products. He said the expansion of Golden Boy Foods in Troy will increase the production of private label peanut butter within “the peanut butter belt.”

Seventy percent of the peanuts grown in the U.S. are produced within this area, Warden said.

He added that the expansion of the Golden Boy Foods in Troy was “not a six-inch putt.”

“It was made possible through a team effort and is a private-government partnership,” he said. “The expansion will double the capacity of Golden Boy Foods in Troy and will make this plant the second largest producer of peanut butter for Golden Boy Foods.”

Warden said the expansion should be completed by mid-summer and will provide 50 additional jobs.

Jacobs said the new facility will make it possible to increase production by adding a second shift and also increase the warehouse space. Golden Boy will continue to run private label peanut butter and the company’s own Nut’N Better label.

“We are extremely proud that Golden Boy Foods selected the Troy facility for this expansion project,” said Marsha Gaylard, president, Pike County Economic Development Corporation. “We actually competed with Fitzgerald, Georgia for the expansion, but thanks to Mayor Reeves and the Troy City Council and a lot of hard work and tough negotiating, Golden Boy selected Troy. Robert Jacobs and his employees are to be commended for the great job they have done to make the Troy facility so successful and well respected within the industry.”