COLUMBUS – Yesterday was a day of celebration for Agro Farma, as the Chenango County-based producer of Chobani brand Greek-style yogurt marked the beginning of the next chapter of the company’s growth with a ground breaking ceremony at the site of its new refrigerated warehouse
“This is an exciting day for us,” said Agro Farma’s founder, Hamdi Ulukaya, as he greeted local dignitaries, business leaders and community members who were on hand for the event. Congressman Mike Arcuri, Senator James Seward and Assemblyman Cliff Crouch were among those in attendance.
Ulukaya called construction of the 150,000 square foot refrigerated warehouse, which will serve as the company’s national distribution hub, a “milestone” for the five-year-old company.
The Turkish-born businessman acquired the former Kraft facility in 2005, and started the venture with just five employees. When the Chobani brand was launched in 2007, the plant was producing only a couple of hundred cases a week. Today, the company churns out 500,000 cases per week and is the number one selling brand of yogurt in the Northeast, according to Ulukaya.
“This is only a start of where we can go,” he said.
According to Ulukaya, the expansion project will mark a $100 million investment in Chenango County over the next two years. Once the warehouse is completed, and upgrades to the existing production facility are completed, Agro Farma’s production capacity will increase to approximately 2 million cups of yogurt per day, or 1.4 million cases per week, he reported.
It will take both a larger workforce and more milk to produce the greater volume of yogurt, according to Ulukaya, who said 100 new jobs will created within the next year. By the end of the year, they will require 25 million pounds of milk a week - more than 3.5 million pounds, or 55 tanker-loads, per day for the seven-day a week operation.
“How fast can you get (more) cows?” he asked with a laugh, addressing those in attendance with connections to the dairy industry.
According to Ulukaya, it is the men and women of Agro Farma who have made the company what it is today.
“They put their heart into every cup of yogurt that we make,” he said, thanking them for their hard work and sacrifice.
The dignitaries in attendance lauded Ulukaya, and Agro Farma, for their continued commitment and investment in Chenango County and the surrounding area. Congressman Mike Arcuri praised the company for the quality of its product, its vision for growth and its perseverance over the last five years.
“This is good economic news in a time when good economic news is hard to come by,” said Senator James Seward, who said the company had “breathed new life” into the old plant, and the community. He stressed the jobs which have and will be created as a result of the yogurt manufacturer, as well as what it means for the local dairy industry.
“We are going to do everything we can to make sure our local dairy farmers can take advantage of this opportunity,” Seward reported.
As a former dairy farmer himself, Assemblyman Cliff Crouch said he had briefly considered returning to his former life when he heard the volume of milk Agro Farma would be needing by the end of the year.
He thanked the company for their continued faith in the people of Chenango County.
Richard Decker, chairman of Chenango County Board of Supervisors, thanked the company as well.
“We’re one of the few counties in the state that can stand here and say, ‘We’ve got jobs!,’” Decker said.
Commerce Chenango President Maureen Carpenter called Agro Farma’s story, and the company’s current expansion project, “every economic developer’s dream.”
“They are a true asset to us,” she said.