Jack Link's, maker of meat snacks sold in more than 40 countries, is expanding its distribution facility in Underwood, Iowa, to add warehouse capacity, as well as a highly automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS) to improve efficiency.

Design-build firm Stellar will oversee the project, which is expected to be completed in June 2023. Stellar will be responsible for planning, pre-construction, construction management, and building envelope, as well as architectural, structural, mechanical, civil, electrical and plumbing design.

“As Jack Link’s first AS/RS facility, this expansion will allow the company to meet increasing demand from their customers,” says Thomas Ansell, Lead Construction Project Manager with Stellar. “We are excited for this opportunity to incorporate cutting-edge technology at Jack Link’s that will help carry the company into its next decade of business.”

This is the first construction project Stellar will perform for Jack Link’s Protein Snacks, and the third AS/RS project Stellar currently has underway.

After a March 30 groundbreaking attended by local politicians, dignitaries and executives from Jack Link’s Protein Snacks, Jacksonville, Fla.-based Stellar announced it will be the meat snack company’s design-build firm for an expansion project at its Underwood, Iowa, distribution plant. Officials said the project, which is scheduled to be completed by June 2023, will feature an automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS), increasing capacity at the facility and maximizing efficiency. The expansion will add approximately 109,000 square feet of space to the existing plant.

Stellar will lead the planning and pre-construction process of the project as well as assuming responsibility for managing the construction and entire architectural and structural design. It is the third AS/RS project Stellar has underway and the first time Jack Link’s has implemented the technology.

Jack Link’s purchased the original distribution facility in 2011, from The Oriental Trading Co., a distributor of small toys and party supplies.

Thomas Ansell, lead construction project manager with Stellar, said, “We are excited for this opportunity to incorporate cutting-edge technology at Jack Link’s that will help carry the company into its next decade of business.”

In late April, Jack Link’s announced plans to invest $450 million to build a new processing plant in Perry, Ga., where it will add approximately 800 jobs.