Ren Seafoods plans to open a seafood processing facility and distribution hub in Mobile, Alabama. The investment is part of a growth project that will create 54 jobs.

The company will invest $12.4 million in its new location in the old Smith’s Bakery building on the West Interstate 65 service road. Construction is expected to begin in April and be completed later this year.

While most national seafood companies are concentrated in areas such as New England, Miami and Seattle, Ren Seafoods CEO Javier Infante said his company is pursuing a different strategy.

“We are creating a hub for seafood distribution covering the Southeast region,” said Infante. “We are following their path and its vicinity allows us to combine product deliveries to have a unique logistics operation. In addition, there is high-quality, local seafood in this region that we will be able to access for our customer base.”

Ren Seafoods is affiliated with Pennsylvania-based The Fishin’ Co., a privately held company selling 150 million pounds of seafood annually to retailers and food service distributors.

“This project further cements Mobile as a prime location for logistics and warehousing,” said David Rodgers, Mobile Area chamber of commerce vice president of economic development. “The project aligns with the Chamber’s economic development strategy to continue to grow Mobile’s logistics and distribution network, especially as it relates to containerized cargo through the Port of Mobile and APM Terminals,” he added.