Lunds and Byerlys to Close in Lake Mills

Lake Mills will lose another manufacturing company in October. Lunds and Byerlys has decided to close operations. The company which produces gourmet meals and other food production items appears to be moving operations to Minnesota.

The company released a statement concerning the issue. It read:

“After careful consideration and analysis, Lunds & Byerlys has made the decision to consolidate our food production operations into our manufacturing facility in Eden Prairie, Minn., which is located much closer to our 28 stores throughout the Twin Cities and surrounding area. As a result, our production facility in Lake Mills, which opened in 1987, is anticipated to close in early October.
The most difficult aspect of this decision is that it impacts the 23 remarkable team members at our Lake Mills facility. As we have shared with them, we will provide support and resources to facilitate the smoothest transition possible. For those team members that are interested, this includes the opportunity to transfer to our Eden Prairie facility.
We are also actively in discussions with other companies to gauge their interest in purchasing our Lake Mills facility as it is our sincere desire to keep manufacturing jobs in the Lake Mills community.”

Company spokesman Eric Sorenson would not verbally comment on the issue, preferring to refer to the statement on the closure.

Lake Mills Mayor Bruce Helgeson met with the ownership prior to the public announcement.

During the meeting with the ownership, Helgeson sought out a solution to no avail.

Helgeson is disappointed to watch another manufacturing company leave the city.