Unilever Bestfoods is wrapping up a two-year, $152.5 million investment in its New Century AirCenter manufacturing facility.

Unilever’s southwest Johnson County plant produces well-known brands including Country Crock, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!, Promise and Imperial spreads.

The global supplier of food, home and personal care products purchased its New Century manufacturing facility in 1984 and operates it around the clock with a workforce of 344 employees. In 2013, the company plans to expand the facility, calling it “a significant milestone in the history of Unilever US.”

The company’s roots began in the late 1800s in Europe, with early products including margarine, Sunlight Soap and Lifebuoy Soap. The company employs 172,000 people globally and has more than 400 brands, 13 of which have annual sales of more than $1 billion. In the United States, the company employs about 8,000 people, with annual sales of about $8.5 billion in 2014.

Company: Unilever Bestfoods

Address: 27080 West 159th Street, New Century, KS

Project: Manufacturing facility expansion

Value: $152.5 million investment

Local employees: 344

Contact: Mike Smith, factory director, (913) 782-7171