Battered and breaded chicken, cake mixes and seasonings are hot these days, and one Louisville company is riding that wave of flavor to increased employees and factory space.

Blendex Co. recently completed a 10,000 square-foot expansion of its facility on Electron Drive in Jeffersontown.  Before the expansion, the company operated in 90,000 square feet on the 12-acre site, according to Blendex CEO Ron Pottinger.

Koetter Construction Inc. was the general contractor for the $250,000 project.

A second phase of the expansion, set to being next year, will add another 90,000 square-foot building to the company's operations, Pottinger said.

Blendex has invested about $175,000 in new equipment and added 15 jobs, bringing total employment to 115.

Company has more than 400 customers

Pottinger said the expansion was in response to increased demand for the company's customized food products, and that it also will allow Blendex to improve quality with new equipment that is tailored to the kind of products the new customers need.

Many of the 400 or so Blendex customers, which include Texas Roadhouse Inc. and Papa John's International Inc. are requesting more specialized products that require more advanced equipment, Pottinger said.

"Every day, we have to add something new to accommodate our customers," he said.  "We're seeing more demand for new products."

Completion of this expansion was delayed past the original finish date in March because of weather problems, Pottinger said.

Phase two of the company's expansion plan includes building on four acres of land behind the company's current Jeffersontown site.  Blendex purchased the land last year from Koetter Construction Inc. for about $400,000, Pottinger said.

The expansion plan calls for another 90,000 square-foot stand-alone building, half of which will be used for storage and half for blending.

The cost of the second-phase expansion is estimated to be $3 million to $4 million, Pottinger said.  "Unless something dramatic happens, we'll expand." Pottinger said.  "I can't imagine why we wouldn't.

Health bar blends are popular

Pottinger said the low-carbohydrate diet trend has cut into demand for its bread batter production.  One product line that has picked up the slack is pre-blended health bar batter.

The batter, which eventually is turned into the health bars, is mixed in 4,000-gallon tubs before being sent off to another plant to be packaged.

Other blended mixtures made at the Blendex plant are batter for chicken and fish, Pottinger said.

"We make anything with dry mix," Pottinger said.  "We make seasoned flour mixes, cake mixes and bread mixes.  We make the seasoning for Papa John's pizza sauce."

Some of that chicken and fish breading is shipped to Dine Co., a restaurant equipment dealer on Preston Highway.  Neil Manias, principal owner and president, said Blendex products have been used by his customers for 22 years.

Product used by local restaurants

Customers of Dine Co. include area country clubs and convenience-store delis.  Dine Co. also sells a flour mix called Southern Classic that is blended by Blendex.

"I've never had to send back a product because it was bad quality," Manias said.

Having blends that are consistent is critical to the food at Mark's Feed Stores, according to Mark Erwin, the owner of the five area restaurant locations.  Erwin has been a Blendex customer for about five years.

"We like that they have good quality controls.  Their place is impeccably clean," he said.  "We like doing business with people in Louisville, Ky."