The general manager of Tokyo Bento Nichiyo's Hawaii operations, Masaki Oguma, left, stands with Warabeya USA Inc. president Yoshiya Iriyama, middle, and Toshihiko Okumura, Warabeya Group president, yesterday as they taste rice made at the new Mapunapuna factory. Photo By Craig T. Kojima, Star-Bulletin

The maker of musubi and about 75 other food products spent more than $4 million on the Paa Street operation, which includes 16,000 square feet of production space, said Yoshiya Iriyama, president of Warabeya USA Inc. That space is about three times larger than the company's old facilities on Waiakamilo Road.

"This the first of a kind (production facility) in the United States," he said.

The Paa location also includes an in-house laboratory to do testing of its food products, and a separate room for handling of meat, he said.

Dr. Richard Lawton, head of the Hawaii meat inspection branch at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was at the plant opening ceremonies yesterday. He said the USDA made design recommendations on the facility so the company could meet new, stricter federal health standards.

Tokyo Bento is one of the largest makers of musubi in Hawaii, and the new facility has automated the formation of the rice molds that are part of musubi, he said. The machine can make 2,000 of these rice molds an hour, according to the company. Rice molds had been made by hand. The company also makes sushi, sandwiches and bentos.

Tokyo Bento provides about 50 products to the 7-Eleven Hawaii stores. The 7-Eleven distribution center is next door to the Paa plant. Tokyo Bento also distributes products to other convenience stores, supermarkets, restaurants and hotels.

The company has more than 110 employees and operates seven days a week, 24 hours a day, Iriyama said. It is a unit of the Warabeya Group of Japan and came to Hawaii in 1982.