Economic development starts with infrastructure.
Liesel Gross, Lehigh County Authority’s Chief Executive Officer joined Governor Josh Shapiro, Chobani, and leaders from across the region to celebrate a $1.2 billion investment in the Lehigh Valley. “Lehigh County Authority has worked with Chobani and partners across the region to evaluate the water and wastewater infrastructure needed to help move this project forward while protecting reliable service for our existing customers,” Gross said.
“This was truly a regional effort. We are proud to have worked alongside the County of Lehigh, Upper Macungie Township, Lower Macungie Township, the City of Allentown and South Whitehall Township.
LCA’s mission starts with public health. We provide safe drinking water and reliable wastewater services to communities throughout the Lehigh Valley. But those same systems are also critical economic infrastructure.
If Pennsylvania wants to compete for major investments, water and wastewater need to be at the table from the beginning. Strong communities depend on strong infrastructure. And projects like this show what is possible when a region works together.”
Paul Muschick and Nicole Radzievich Mertz report “Chobani, LLC will invest $1.2 billion to open a manufacturing facility in the Lehigh Valley that will employ 900 people, the region’s second billion-dollar investment this year and the largest single agricultural investment in Pennsylvania’s history.
The 1.5 million-square-foot facility on Industrial Boulevard is a few miles from where Eli Lilly & Company will begin construction this year on a $3.5 billion pharmaceutical manufacturing campus.
The location is part of a larger food and beverage cluster that includes Boston Beer, Coca-Cola, Ocean Spray, and more and is the same site where Kraft Foods once operated for 44 years before closing in 2016. Finding a new operator for that facility was a priority at the time for Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC), and three years later, Keurig Dr Pepper opened a new $220 million manufacturing operation there.
At the Lehigh Valley facility, Chobani will build on 20 years of dairy expertise to make more from farm-fresh milk, creating milk with more protein and less sugar than traditional milk, the company said in a news release. It will be available as a multi-serve milk for families and serve as the foundation for a new generation of dairy products, including high-protein shakes made with real ingredients.
With up to 10 production lines, the new location will give Chobani the capacity to scale its new products while continuing to develop new formats and food and beverage platforms, moving innovation from idea to shelf faster and bringing consumers more great food and more choices.”
Read Paul Muschick and Nicole Radzievich Mertz’s full story here.