Kellogg cereals 1.jpg

An assortment of Kellogg cereals.

(MLive file photo)

UPDATE: Kellogg apparently seeking few tax breaks for its new service center in Cascade Township



GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Kellogg Co. announced it will open a new North American Global Business Services operation here that will employ between 300 and 600.

The regional GBS center at 5300 Patterson Avenue SE will include employees in the cereal giant’s finance, information technology, supply chain and human resources departments. Employees will begin moving into the service center this fall. It is expected to be at full capacity in 2016, the company announced on Thursday, Feb. 13.

Kellogg CEO John Bryant told The Grand Rapids Press/MLive they chose Grand Rapids for the new center after looking at nine possible locations around the U.S. as part of a new corporate restructuring initiative dubbed “Project K.”

Bryant said the company chose Grand Rapids because 40 other corporations have created similar service centers in the area, creating a labor pool from which Kellogg hopes to draw.

Kellogg announced it will create a new Global Business Services office at 5300 Patterson Avenue SE. The 100,000 square-foot building is the former home of Zondervan, a Christian publishing arm of HarperCollins. (Rendering courtesy Frankin Partners)

“We’re very excited about the Grand Rapids location. There’s a good population base for this sort of activity,” Bryant said. “I also believe Grand Rapids can become a greater destination for other companies to put this type of activity in Grand Rapids.”

Some of the employees at the new center will be transferred from other Kellogg offices, including Battle Creek, while other employees will be new hires, Bryant said.

“Grand Rapids is a vibrant community and urban center of a growing region of more than 1 million people,” Bryant said in a statement.

“As Michigan’s second-largest city and a short distance from our headquarters, Grand Rapids is known for its proximity to major markets, including Chicago and Detroit, as well as affordable commercial space and a highly qualified workforce.”

Bryant said the location also fills Kellogg’s desire to stay in its home state. Kellogg is moving into a 100,000 square foot office building that was once the home of Zondervan, a Christian publishing company and unit of HarperCollins Christian Publishing that moved out of the building in 2013.

The building's owners, Chicago-based Franklin Partners, divided the Zondervan property into two segments – a 100,000 square-foot office building and a 200,000-square-foot industrial building.



RELATED: New owner plans to split office and warehouse facility used by Zondervan Corp. into two buildings

Kellogg currently operates two baking facilities in the Grand Rapids area. One facility at 310 28th St. SE produces “Pop Tart” and “Special K” bars while another facility at 5353 Broadmoor Ave. SE produces snack bars.

Bryant said the GBS center is part of a four-year restructuring program aimed at streamlining Kellogg’s corporate functions. Kellogg, which employs more than 2,000 in Battle Creek, will continue to maintain its corporate headquarters, research and development and production facilities in Battle Creek, he said.

“Battle Creek is a very important city and location for us,” Bryant said. “There might be some roles that move out of here and to Grand Rapids. There’s always an ebb and flow in and out of corporate headquarters,” he said.

“GBS will streamline many end-to-end, transactional and repeatable processes that support our business,” Bryant said in a news release announcing the move. “This will result in significant improvements in effectiveness, efficiency and collaboration, while creating new capabilities and enhanced organizational capacity.”

With 2013 sales of $14.8 billion, Kellogg is the world’s leading cereal company; the second largest producer of cookies, crackers and savory snacks; and a leading North American frozen foods company.

Jim Harger covers business for MLive/Grand Rapids Press. Email him at jharger@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter or Facebook or Google+.