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Dairy group Chobani has broken ground on a new processing plant in Rome, New York, US, supported by a $1.2bn investment.
Construction of the facility is underway on a 150-acre stretch of land that was once home to the former Griffiss Air Force Base. Expected to create over 1,000 full-time jobs, the 1.4 million-square-foot plant aims to provide a ‘thriving centre of food production,’ fueling innovation and enabling Chobani to keep up with rising product demand.
The new site will have capacity to produce over one billion pounds of dairy products per year. It will house up to 28 production lines designed to process approximately 12 million lbs of milk per day.
Chobani, best known for its yogurts and other dairy products, purchases over 1 billion lbs of raw milk from New York State dairy farms each year, and expects to purchase an estimated 6 billion lbs annually once its new plant reaches full capacity. This will strengthen the state’s dairy industry and create new economic opportunities.
The dairy giant said it will partner with local farmers, businesses, academic institutions, government leaders, entrepreneurs and community organisations with the goal of ‘transforming’ the region and fuelling economic opportunity beyond the plant’s walls.
Hamdi Ulukaya, founder and CEO of Chobani, said: “New York is where Chobani's journey began. It was the perfect spot to start Chobani 20 years ago, and it's the perfect place to continue our story.”
“With our new plant in Rome and our original home in South Edmeston, we're entering a new dimension, partnering with hard working people across the heartland of New York to build an ecosystem of natural food production and nourish families throughout the country.”
New York governor, Kathy Hochul, said the project aligns with her pledge to make New York “the most worker-friendly and business-friendly state in the nation”.
She commented: “Chobani has been a major employer in the Mohawk Valley for decades, and this massive new $1.2 billion investment will bring more than 1,000 good-paying jobs to Oneida County – the largest natural food manufacturing investment in American history.”