South Korea’s Dongwon Home Food Co. will invest 61.5 billion won ($57.8 million) to build an integrated food complex with a manufacturing facility and a distribution center to create synergy among its broad food businesses ranging from catering service to ready-to-serve meals and processed meat production.

Dongwon Home Food said Wednesday that it signed a memorandum of understanding with the city of Chungju, North Chungcheong Province in Korea to build a food complex at Chungju Megapolis industrial zone. The company will spend total 61.5 billion won to build a 62,000-square meter-large food complex with an aim to complete the construction by the first half of 2019.

Chungju offers logistics advantage with the city located in the central part of the country on top of having good infrastructure for companies, said a Dongwon Home Food official.

The company plans to use the new food complex to manage its six different businesses - ready-to-serve meals, food materials and processed meat distribution, condiments, catering, and restaurant franchise all under the same roof. Also, the complex will include food manufacturing lines and logistics center.

Established in 1993, Dongwon Home Food is a part of Dongwon Group, the country’s major processed food-making conglomerate. The company has broadened its business spectrum by acquiring online livestock product store ‘Kumchon Meat’ in 2015 and online ready-to-eat meals shop ‘The Banchan’ in 2016.

The company has been expanding fast in recent years with its sales jumping to 978.0 billion won last year from 587.3 billion won in 2015. It anticipates this year’s sales to hit a milestone of 1 trillion won for the first time in its inception.

By Lee Hee-soo and Cho Jeehyun

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