New hub enhances rapid prototyping and boosts production to meet increased demand for custom flavor solutions
IRON RIDGE, Wis., June 12, 2025 -- PS Seasoning and Pro Smoker, global leaders in flavor development and equipment solutions, today announced the opening of a new Customer Innovation Center. Located in the newly revitalized Iron Ridge facility where the companies began nearly 50 years ago, the state-of-the-art center is designed to accelerate product development for partners across the food space, including the meat and cheese industries along with food manufactures and major retailers. The Customer Innovation Center enables rapid prototyping, hands-on testing, and pilot production to help customers bring new products to market faster. Additionally, a newly installed bottling line boosts bottling production capacity by 25% to meet growing demand for custom flavor solutions.
"No one else in the industry combines deep expertise in both flavor science and equipment design like we do," said Joe Hanni, CEO of PS Seasoning and Pro Smoker. "That unique integration allows us to move from concept to finished product with unmatched speed and precision — something that's fueled our continued growth and long-term customer partnerships across the food manufacturing, retail and meat processing segments."
Beyond R&D, the center will also serve as a collaborative hub for education and industry advancement. The companies plan to host workshops and seminars in partnership with distributors, universities, and local schools. As part of that mission, Pro Smoker recently donated an advanced commercial smokehouse to the University of Wisconsin-River Falls to help train and develop the next generation of meat industry professionals.
The Customer Innovation Center marks another milestone in a period of significant expansion for PS Seasoning and Pro Smoker. Over the past year, the companies have grown their operations from three to five locations in Wisconsin, including the addition of a Culinary and R&D Center at company headquarters in Iron Ridge, a new manufacturing facility in Hartford, and a distribution center in Richfield.
Over the past two years, the companies have doubled in size—both in workforce and revenue—growing to more than 200 employees, including food scientists, master meat crafters, and culinary and thermal processing experts. The Customer Innovation Center will also support internal training and upskilling, ensuring team members stay ahead of emerging trends and technologies.
"This expansion is a reflection of our momentum," said Hanni. "We're investing in the people, technology and infrastructure to fuel the next chapter of our growth."
ABOUT PS SEASONING AND PRO SMOKER
PS Seasoning and Pro Smoker are global leaders in flavor innovation and equipment solutions. As proud third-generation family-owned and operated businesses, they have been dedicated to delivering exceptional products, quality and service to customers worldwide since 1977. PS Seasoning produces an extensive product lineup of more than 5,200 unique blends and more than 55 million pounds of seasoning annually. Pro Smoker has over 16,000 precision-engineered scalable units – from commercial truckload smokehouses to home smokers – in the field.
With five facilities between the two companies in Iron Ridge, Hartford, and Richfield, Wisconsin, the heart of the Midwest, PS Seasoning and Pro Smoker honor the past while constantly innovating to bring the best in flavor mastery and technical expertise to the industry. For more information, visit psseasoning.com and pro-smoker.com.
Press Room: psseasoning.com/blogs/newsroom
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