In three years, Yogurt-maker Hamdi Ulukaya has turned a shuttered plant into a thriving company with 80 employees, $30 million in sales and more orders than they can fill with their current capacity.

“You can always turn things around if you have the motive, if you have the idea,” said Ulukaya.
What brought the Turkish-born business man to Chenango County? He was following his dream of introducing a high quality Greek-style yogurt to the U.S. market.
The dairy business was nothing new to Ulukaya; his family has been in the industry in Europe for generations. He himself already owned a company called Euphrates, Inc., for which he built a state-of-the-art facility in 2002. The company, located in Johnstown, makes feta cheese.
Ulukaya first visited Chenango County in 2005 to see the Kraft plant outside of New Berlin. The building, built in the 1920s, was in the process of closing. During that visit, he said, he was struck by how people in the community, particularly the plant’s 55 employees who would be affected.
“They cared about their jobs,” he explained.
While the building didn’t look like much from the outside, Ulukaya said, there was a valuable investment in equipment inside. He was able to see not only the potential for the facility, but also its surroundings.
“The raw material here is the best in the world,” he explained, speaking of the quality of the milk produced by area farms.
Beyond that, it was instance that helped Ulukaya make his decision.
“You have to follow your gut feeling,” he said.
With the purchase of the facility, Agro Farma was born.
“I think this is a great example of local and state government coming together and making a project work,” said Ulukaya.
Ulukaya received support and financing after his purchase of the facility by working closely with both Chenango County and Commerce Chenango.
According to Maureen Carpenter, President of Commerce Chenango, her organization applied for a grant on Agro Farma’s behalf with the New York State Office of Small Cities, now known as the Office of Community Renewal. That money was divided into a $250,000 low-interest loan and a $340,000 forgivable loan for equipment, working capital and employee training. As the money is paid back, it goes into the Chenango County Area Corporation’s revolving loan fund where it can benefit other local businesses.
Agro Farma also received business assistance loans from Chenango County and the Area Corporation.
Ulukaya said he felt welcomed and supported by the agencies he worked with to get Agro Farma off the ground.
“They are there for us,” he said. “The relationship has been amazing.”
From 2005 until October 2007, the company manufactured yogurt for a private label. During that time, they had their eye on their true goal.
“We wanted to have our own label,” he explained. Gradually, Agro Farma added the equipment they would need to produce the Greek-style yogurt they wanted to introduce as their own.
“From the beginning, everybody got involved, from management to the people on the line,” said Ulukaya. Employees had a say in everything from the yogurt’s packaging, to the taste of the product itself.
The result of their collective effort is Chobani; a thick, creamy Greek-syle yogurt rich in protein currently available in 8 non fat and low fat varieties. The all natural traditional-style yogurt contains no artificial sweeteners, no preservatives and is made only with milk from cows who have not been treated with synthetic growth hormones. It also happens to be gluten free and low in lactose.
“This is a very, very special type of yogurt,” said Ulukaya.“It is what yogurt is supposed to be.”
Chobani is made following a centuries old recipe with a process overseen by a yogurt master from Turkey, he explained. “We have knowledge and a human touch in the plant every day.”
Once the product was perfected, the real work began.
“Making is only a portion of being successful,” said the company president. The next challenge was getting the yogurt into the hands of consumers.
In those early days, the plant was producing a couple of hundred cases of each flavor and worrying that they were making too much, Ulukaya said. But they didn’t worry for long. The product quickly took off, despite the fact that they never spent any money on advertising.
People loved it. Soon Chobani was showing up in blogs, on morning news shows and in print media.
“Word of mouth spread so fast all over the country,” Ulukaya said. The company used food shows to get into large supermarket chains, having made a conscious decision to forgo specialty and gourmet stores in favor of the big retailers for their first push. Those retailers have told him that Chobani is the fastest growing yogurt on their shelves, he said.
Now Chobani is stocked by retail giants like Publix Supermarkets, Stop & Shop, Sam’s Club and BJ’s. Price Chopper, which has a store in Norwich, started carrying the yogurt in January.
By the end of 2008, Agro Farma’s staff had grown from 5 to 80 employees working three shift, 7 days a week to keep up with demand for the yogurt. The plant is operating at near full capacity, shipping out 100,000 cases each week. And it’s still not enough.
“We can’t make enough,” said Ulukaya. The company recently invested $3 million in additional equipment designed to double the plants capacity. The work should be completed by March.
The new capacity will help them increase not only the quantity they produce, but also add new flavors of the popular yogurt to their product line.
Ulukaya said he hopes this investment will help Agro Farma meet their growing demand at least until 2010, but at that point they may need to look at other expansion options.
“We have to come up with a plan,” he said. “We love this site.”
Agro Farma is firmly ensconced with the local community, which is home to many of the company’s employees.
“They are our best asset,” said Ulukaya. Recognizing the role the employees have played in Agro Farma’s success, he said they are looking at ways to make the plant a better place to work by improving their benefits, adding profit sharing options, etc.
The yogurt company also supports local farmers. Much of the milk which serves as the main raw ingredient in Chobani is from farms within a 5 to 10 mile radius of the plant, Ulukaya said, purchased through a milk cooperative.
The bi-products of the yogurt process also benefit these farms. Water and lactose removed when the dairy product is strained, is used as feed. And the sludge from the plant’s water treatment facility makes its way back as fertilizer.
Ulukaya takes the company’s social responsibility very seriously, from keeping the facility “green” to supporting non-profit organizations.
Charitable giving is done as part of Agro Farma’s Shepherd’s Gift program. The name Chobani is derived from a Greek word meaning “shepherd.” Through this program, 10 percent of the company’s annual profits are donated to a variety of causes. 30 percent of that total stays locally. Agro Farma also donates yogurt to area food pantries, including the Roots and Wings program at Catholic Charities.
A committee comprised of both Agro Farma employees and community members determines which organizations to support.
In 2008, Agro Farma was recognized for its accomplishments at Commerce Chenango’s Salute to Small Business Dinner, where the company received the Small Business Manufacturer of the Year award.
“Being successful as a small manufacturer deserves recognition - especially when the firm exceeds its targeted goals in such a short period of time and is committed to creating good jobs for good people,” said Carpenter.