Kiolbassa Smoked Meats celebrated its 70th anniversary with the opening of a new production line that will allow the business to increase its sausage production by 50%.
The San Antonio, Texas-based company marked the occasion on April 17 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by family, friends and community leaders.
“Here at Kiolbassa, we make all of our products the old-fashioned way,” company President Michael Kiolbassa said in a release. “That means remaining true to the way my grandfather made sausage when he started our company seven decades ago – in small batches, always using premium cuts of beef and pork and the freshest ingredients.
With their new line, they can produce more sausage, but they are still doing it 150 pounds at a time.
The new line will eventually produce 10 million pounds of smoked sausage a year, adding to the company’s current production of 20 million pounds annually. Kiolbassa is hiring 30 additional workers at about $15 an hour on average to work on the new line.
“Thirty years ago, you could only find Kiolbassa in a few H-E-B stores here in town. Now, we are fortunate to be carried in H-E-B stores across Texas as well as other stores across the United States and even in Mexico,” Kiolbassa said. “We are passionate about preserving the art of handcrafted smoked meats.”
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