One of Salina’s largest employers is looking to increase its work force, and is going to give them all a wage increase.

Schwan’s Company, which owns and operates the Tony’s pizza manufacturing facility in Salina, announced a $2-an-hour wage increase, an investment of about $5 million annually. The announcement was made as the plant and warehouse gear up to fill 170 open positions.

To fill the positions, the Tony’s facility team will host a job fair from 4 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, June 28, and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday, June 29, at the Tony’s Pizza Events Center. The facility is also participating in a job fair from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Wednesday, June 28, at the Meridian Center in Newton. The company is hiring for production line attendants, sanitation associates, maintenance team members and more.

Anyone interested in learning more about the company’s open positions can attend the job fairs or visit www.schwansjobs.com.

In addition to the wage increase, the company also expanded its shift differential compensation, paying employees an extra $1.50 per hour if they work between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.
“We are looking for great people to join our Tony’s team, and with this latest wage adjustment, people working the late shifts will be starting at $15 an hour,” said Todd Clark, senior director of manufacturing at the Tony’s pizza manufacturing facility. “We are offering steady, full-time work with a well-established food company where you can grow your career.”

Clark, who began working at the Tony’s facility early this year, said Schwan’s will invest between $30 and $40 million in plant upgrades in 2017. Upgrades include new production equipment and renovating employee break rooms and bathrooms. These investments follow an approximate $35 million investment last year.

“Our goal is to continuously improve our overall employee experience. We have a great group of dedicated team members at our facilities who work each day to provide quality pizzas to our customers,” Clark said. “We wanted to show our teams that we appreciate the work they are doing and show that we have a strong commitment to the Salina community.”

The announcements were made to employees on Friday during a town-hall meeting at the Tony’s Pizza Events Center in Salina.