"The Spirit of St. Louis Award recognizes excellence in business – and so it is appropriate that we are giving the Spirit Award to Swiss-American," Mayor Slay said. "Your commitment to St. Louis and your success here has shown that our city is a great place to do business, and we are very proud that you call St. Louis home."

Swiss-American received the award in recognition of its commitment and major expansion in the City. Swiss-American explored various expansion options and elected to proceed with expansion on vacant and underutilized land acquired from the city's Land Reutilization Authority (LRA). Renovation required demolition of existing structures on the acquired properties, utility relocation, and the addition of water lines to serve the new facility. The new $3 million, 44,000-square-foot state-of-the-art production/distribution center has 70 full-time employees and offers seasonal positions.

Founded in 1938 as an importer and distributor, the company is one of the largest importers of soft-ripened cheeses in the United States. As a direct importer with alliances in domestic and international trade organizations, the company has their own cheese licenses.

Swiss-American imports, processes and distributes over 500 varieties of imported and domestic cheeses to 3,000 supermarket delis, wholesalers and distributors weekly throughout 40 states. It also offers 500 varieties of bulk and pre-packaged cheese.

The Mayor's Spirit of St. Louis Award recognizes businesses that exemplify the St. Louis spirit of boldness, innovation and community pride.

After presenting the award, Mayor Slay worked on the assembly line slicing 40-pound blocks of cheese.

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