-
The dairy industry is growing in Western New York in ways other industries are still trying to figure out.
-
Take Great Lakes Cheese, which recently invested $700 million in its new Franklinville plant.
-
Western New York has seen more than $1.5 billion in private investments from dairy companies.
It’s not every decade that a rural county like Cattaraugus sees a $700 million investment in a new manufacturing plant, but location and workforce were a priority for Great Lakes Cheese, and Franklinville checked those boxes.
The company moved into its Cuba plant in 1993 and has been a major employer in Allegany County. But as that facility aged to nearly 70 years old, the company had to look at options for a new plant.
“We’re a growing company and a growing plant, but we had an aging infrastructure,” said Ryan Brickner, plant manager, who’s been with the company six years. “Ultimately, we made the investment to make sure we can service our customers on-time with the lowest costs. We looked at hundreds of locations in New York state.”
Great Lakes is not alone in its growth in Western New York. In the last few years, the region has seen more than $1.5 billion in private investments from dairy companies and more than $223 million in public funding through tax incentives and state funds for job creation.
The result: The creation of hundreds of jobs, tax dollars and proof that the industry remains a robust and reliable sector for economic growth, even in uncertain times. As companies expand their footprint, workforce and capacity, the region as a whole benefits.
In a post-pandemic world of political uncertainty, the dairy industry is growing in ways other industries are still trying to figure out. That success is largely founded on the fact that the region has a complete dairy supply chain and a workforce that knows what it’s doing.
“That was by far the largest private sector development in Cattaraugus County history,” said Matthew Hubacher, senior vice president at Invest Buffalo Niagara, who worked with Great Lakes on the project. “They retained 200 jobs and created another few hundred. For any part of our region, that’s a major win and one that any region in the country would be wanting to attract.”
Great Lakes Cheese
Hubacher said that 10 years ago the region was “playing defense” trying to keep companies here. Today, it’s attracting new food and beverage companies.
“We’re still early in the process of that transformation, but it’s not a short-term play,” he said. “We forecast continued growth in food and beverage processing in the high single-digit to low double-digit growth over the next five years.”
Great Lakes, founded in Ohio in 1958 by Swiss immigrant Hans Epprecht, began production at the new Franklinville plant last year, but the project was eight years in the making.
The biggest hurdle for keeping the plant here, Hubacher said, was not having a shovel-ready site. For the last three and a half years, he worked with the company, Empire State Development, the Cattaraugus County Industrial Development Agency and National Grid to find a suitable site within a 20-mile radius of Cuba.
“We had to be very creative and utilize our county economic development partners and commercial brokers to cobble together a couple different parcels with a couple different landowners,” Hubacher said. “There was a lot of negotiation and a lot of turning over many stones to find that perfect site, and it took several years.”
Derek Bull does inventory in the cooler at the Upstate Niagara Cooperative facility in West Seneca.
Mark Mulville
The project got a tax incentive package — sales tax, mortgage-
recording and property tax — valued at more than $160 million through the Cattaraugus County IDA.
Great Lakes broke ground in 2022, and over the last year it moved everyone at the Cuba site to Franklinville.
With more than 500,000 square feet, the new plant is double the size and throughput of the Cuba site, he said. The company also added about 300 employees, for a total workforce of over 500.
The new plant operates 24/7 producing shredded and sliced cheddar, mozzarella and provolone, along with a whey powder product. The plant is expected to use 4.5 million pounds of raw milk daily.
“I think we’ll reach full capacity within the first year, but we’re working on a ramped approach,” Brickner said.
A growing cow population
While that plant was a huge, standalone success, it shines a light on the broader picture of how well-positioned Buffalo is for dairy production.
Hubacher said food and beverage processing has made up about 15% of Invest Buffalo Niagara’s overall portfolio of both domestic and Canadian companies that they work with. Dairy companies like this region because of its proximity to consumers in densely populated cities.
Milk production plays a big role too, he said. New York is the fourth largest dairy-producing state in the nation, and Wyoming County is the largest dairy-producing county in New York state, Hubacher said.
Kevin Ellis, CEO of Upstate Niagara Cooperative, said the region’s dairy farmers have been worried about excess milk in the market for about 16 years, so growth of dairy production and increased demand is a good thing.
Megan Candler makes cottage cheese at the Upstate Niagara Cooperative facility in West Seneca.
Mark Mulville
He said dairy companies are growing here because it’s one of 11 areas in the country that are growing in cow population.
The more than 260 dairy farmers in the co-op will also be able to provide milk to Fairlife, an ultra-filtered milk and protein shake producer, which is building a plant in Webster. At 745,000 square feet, it’s expected to be the largest fluid milk factory in the Northeast.
“It will lift dairy in this state even farther than it is today, and it will allow our farmers to expand for future generations,” Ellis said. “High tide lifts all boats. I think competition is good; it makes everybody better and sharper.”
Upstate Niagara, which has multiple plants across the state, is planning a $150 million expansion of its West Seneca plant at 3300 North America Drive, which makes yogurt, sour cream, cottage cheese and Bison dip.
The expansion will add a 250,000-square-foot addition to Upstate’s 222,851-square-foot facility. The plant makes 125 million pounds of product, and the expansion will increase that by about 100 million pounds.
“We’re a co-op owned by farmers, and we grow at about 3.6% per year,” Ellis said. “We have to grow for our members, because our investors are milk shippers, and we’re trying to keep up with them.”
Lactalis American Group is another large dairy employer that partners with more than 230 dairy farms to produce 280 million pounds of dairy products locally. The company employs more than 800 between its cheese plant on South Park Avenue and its U.S. corporate offices, one across the street and another on Seneca Street in Larkinville.
“Everything starts with the milk,” said Jean-Luc Bruandet, president and CEO. “The quality of the milk in the area is really good.”
James Binner, senior director of sales, left, talks about some of the Lactalis products offered during the opening of the Lactalis Culinary & Sensory Institute.
Mark Mulville
The cheese plant uses 750 million pounds of raw milk annually, Bruandet said. Lactalis is a $30 billion French company that’s a global leader in dairy. Its U.S. business represents $4 billion of total revenue. “It’s not by chance, ” Bruandet said, that the company chose Buffalo to grow.
“Here in Buffalo, the people are very committed, and they work very hard,” he said.
Got workers?
Western New York has more than 4,430 dairy product manufacturing jobs and that the region’s location quotient is 6.16 for dairy product manufacturing, meaning “we have six times the amount of dairy manufacturing jobs than the nation as a whole,” Hubacher said.
Dairy companies like Great Lakes pay family-sustaining wages and are jobs that people want, with stability and a career path, he said. In fact, in 1998, Great Lakes Cheese started an employee stock ownership plan that is now one of the largest in the nation.
Great Lakes chose to not only stay in Western New York, but also to stay in a southern New York county to retain its workers.
“There are a lot of reasons why we landed where we did geographically,” Brickner said. “The owners of the business have an extreme dedication to their employees, and it was a key deliverable to have a place for them to move to.”
Brickner said the new facility itself drove much of the recruiting of 300 new workers, because people saw a company reinvesting in the business.
“It’s a sign that the company wants to be around and in operation for generations,” Brickner said.
Industry-wide growth
The nation has an appetite for new food products and experiences that is driving that growth, Hubacher said. For dairy companies like Upstate Niagara and Great Lakes, that demand lies specifically with protein-rich products.
“High protein has been on trend, and especially cottage cheese,” Ellis said. “It’s a renaissance of cottage cheese.”
Brickner said that 10 years ago, whey powder was a waste product that companies tried to get rid of, but the market for it has changed dramatically since then, and now “it’s a co-product.”
Ice cream makers are growing, too, like Perry’s Ice Cream Co. with its $18 million expansion in 2023 that added 20,000 square feet for a novelty ice cream production line.
Wells Enterprises, an ice cream manufacturer, retained nearly 400 employees at its Dunkirk plant, when it started a $425 million project to demolish its aging plant and build a new one.
“It’s not easy to find people that are ice cream makers, and when you have a wealth of people with that special skill, you take advantage of it,” said Brad Galles, vice president of manufacturing and engineering for Wells.
Wells Enterprises’ new plant will be 350,000 square feet with two floors and is one of the largest private investments in Chautauqua County. The project will get up to $12 million in Excelsior Jobs Program tax credits and a $6 million grant from Empire State Development. It’s also anticipated to receive about $12 million in sales and property tax incentives.
Great Lakes Cheese
$650 million project; about $160 million in tax incentives and state funding sought for job creation and retention.
Upstate Niagara
$70 million spent in the last few years on plant facility and equipment upgrades. $200 million earmarked for West Seneca expansion; $9.93 million in tax breaks and $8 million in grants are being sought.
Wells Enterprise
$425 million invested; about $30 million received in tax incentives and state grants and funding.
Lactalis
Invested $111 million in plant and facility upgrades and new equipment in Buffalo since 2020.
Perry’s Ice Cream
$18 million expansion; $365,000 in state tax credits.
Edelweiss Dairy
$32.5 million expansion; $15 million in tax incentives.
According to Galles, the company is building out phase one of the project, which will include a chocolate factory expected to begin production in July. The first ice cream machine is expected to begin production in August, and the second in September, Galles said.
Phase two, which began recently, will be the demolition of more of the old plant and building it back with offices, amenities and receiving and waste load-out areas, he said. That phase is expected to be completed by May 2026.
“That plant will be the backbone of innovation for our company,” Galles said. “Innovation is key to driving growth in ice cream. Whether it’s a stick bar, ice cream cone or sandwich — we’ll continue with those, but also create different archetypes that the ice cream industry doesn’t have today.”
Building on momentum
Hubacher said Buffalo has a story to tell about the region’s dairy supply chain, reaching from the farm to the kitchen table. Local dairy farms produce milk that goes to our many dairy product manufacturers, who are then creating cheese, sour cream and yogurt. Those products hit the shelves at Tops and Wegmans, ultimately giving local consumers an opportunity to buy fresh dairy products or enjoy them at local restaurants.
James Binner’s career is a perfect example of that. He’s a chef and senior director of sales for Lactalis American Group who runs the company’s new $2 million Culinary and Sensory Institute on Leland Drive next to its cheese plant. At the center, he tests recipes that will be used not only at the local cheese plant, but also at Lactalis facilities around the globe.
“We’ll say farm to fork, so sometimes we’ll start at a dairy farm,” Binner said. “We’ll watch the milk go from the farm, watch the intake into the plant, watch the cheese being made, then we come in here and start cooking.”
Since 2020, Lactalis has invested $111 million in upgrading its local facilities, plant and equipment to better grow the company here. The company plans to invest another $111 million between 2025 and 2030, to increase the cheese plant’s capacity by 30% and meet demand for ricotta and mozzarella.
Hubacher said the region should be “more celebratory” in those successes and investments to continue to build the dairy industry’s future.
“Even if they might be in more rural areas of our region, we should be touting these projects not only for the success of that company, but as a recruitment tool for other companies investigating Buffalo Niagara as a potential future investment,” he said. “Wins beget wins.”
Still, finding suitable real estate has been a challenge for food and beverage manufacturers. That’s why the Erie County Industrial Development Agency is working to build the Eden/Angola Agribusiness Park on 240 acres that used to be the Angola Airport site, Hubacher said. It’s expected to come online in the next year.
“That will really help with having a development-ready ag park with logistical advantages like water, waste water and electricity,” he said. “It will be a boom to the Eden/Angola economy and definitely a good site for these food and beverage processors to have a site dedicated to their end use.”
NEXT STEPS
Here are three ways you can support local food manufacturers.
- Share Western New York’s wins: When a company finds a home or expands here, everyone needs to tout those success stories. Sharing them can attract more companies here.
- Buy more local farm-to-table products: From the mozzarella on the boardroom pizza to the yogurt at the panel breakfast or the whey powder in your afternoon protein shake, buy dairy products made in the region as often as you can.
- Write letters or call your local elected officials in support of key infrastructure work: Companies seeking to come or expand here need to have access to development-ready properties with the infrastructure already built out.
VOICES OF IMPACT
Business leaders and others weigh in on Buffalo’s potential and what needs to change — through mindset or action — to make it a place where people want to live, work and play.
“Economic development of diverse businesses (is needed). This will lead to increase revenue by attracting more customers and tourists, the development of new businesses (products and services) and creating new jobs. This will also empower the community — supporting diverse businesses empowers minority entrepreneurs while also creating opportunities for economic mobility.” — Briandi Little, manager of inclusion and engagement, Kaleida Health
Mark Mulville
• • •
“There is nothing coming here by chance. Companies are coming and expanding here for good reasons — the milk is here, the people to process the milk are here, and there’s support for the industry here.” — Jean-Luc Bruandet, president and CEO, Lactalis American Group
Photo courtesy of Lactalis American Group.
• • •
“We should be letting consumers know that these products are made in Buffalo Niagara and touting that farm-to-kitchen table story.” — Matthew Hubacher, senior vice president, Invest Buffalo Niagara
Submitted
• • •
“(We need to) work to find a unified economic plan to spur the growth of the overall Buffalo community without losing the unique social, cultural, and economic characteristics of each individual community. One plan crafted without nuance leaves behind communities with tremendous history and cultural heritage. A plan that incorporates each community in a larger narrative; that builds on those characteristics is what can realize Buffalo’s full potential.” — Trek Fulater, assistant corporation counsel, City of Buffalo
Mark Mulville
You can now read the most important #news on #eDairyNews #Whatsapp channels!!!
eDairy News INGLÊS: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaKsjzGDTkJyIN6hcP1K
