General Mills is to invest $48m in expanding its frozen dough plant in the US state of Missouri.

The project will increase the site’s manufacturing and packaging capacity to meet growing demand and product innovation from foodservice customers, the US group said.

Construction is “underway” and is scheduled to be completed in early 2024.

“At General Mills, we’re accelerating our business and investing to support continued growth in frozen dough,” Tim Johnson, the plant manager at the Joplin site, said.

The facility will have the capacity to produce more than 1bn pounds of frozen dough products each year.

After the project is completed, the site will new technology including semi-automated processing and packaging in a bid to improve efficiency.

General Mills generated net sales of $20.1bn in in its 2023 financial year, up 5.7% on a year earlier.

Net sales from the company’s North American retail division was $12.6bn, a 9% increase year on year.

In May, General Mills announced it would shut a pet-food factory in the US by the end of the year.

The company said the closure of the factory in Independence, Iowa, was “in direct support” of its pet supply chain strategy, which “supports the long-term growth” of its business.

General Mills also announced in May it was expanding a snack factory and warehouse in the US state of Illinois.

Last year, the company acquired the Wisconsin-based frozen pizza-crust business, TNT Crust from private-equity firm Peak Rock Capital last year.