The blaze broke out early on Sunday, Jan. 2 when the facility was unoccupied.
The fire was called “A huge loss for the community,” by Momence mayor Charles Steele. Steele was quoted in a report about the blaze by a local CBS affiliate.
A company statement about the blaze said no cause of the fire has yet been determined. A video of the fire from the TV report showed the entire roof of the large plant engulfed in flames, making it clear the facility is at least heavily damaged if not a total loss. A company official confirmed in a local news report on Monday that the facility was at least 75% damaged.
The facility, referred to by the company as the Tuthill Facility, produces freeze dried ingredients. Blending operations are also conducted at the plant, which employs 123 people.
Manufacturing alternatives
VDF has three other production plants with similar capabilities in Momence alone, as well as another freeze drying facility in Serbia. The company advertises that it has more than 1 million square feet of production space, so some shifting of manufacturing will be possible to account for the lost capability at the Tuthill plant once the company determines exactly what has been lost.
“As this is a developing situation, we are not immediately aware of the specific impacts, but we are working diligently to gather and communicate the details. We anticipate these details will change as we learn more about the scope of the damage,” the company said in a statement.
Futureceuticals supplies a wide range of branded ingredients including ElevATP and VitaCherry for sports nutrition, the nootropic ingredient NeuroFactor and more.
