Leprino to build cheese plant in Greeley, Colo.

Leprino Foods Co., the world’s largest manufacturer of mozzarella and pizza cheese and a leading U.S. manufacturer and exporter of whey products, will build a cheese and whey production facility in Greeley, Colo.

The city’s mayor and Council members announced June 13 that the City of Greeley had signed a Development Agreement with Leprino Foods for the new facility, which will be located in the vacant former Western Sugar Company site at 1302 1st Avenue.

The first phase of the plant will include a facility of at least 400,000 square feet and 260 new jobs, the Northern Colorado Business Report noted. The facility should be operational by 2012.

“We are excited about the potential of welcoming Leprino Foods to Greeley as the anchor tenant of the new Western Sugar Tax Increment District,” said Mayor Ed Clark. “I cannot think of a better business to launch the district. We believe that this location will serve as a future industrial park for emerging businesses in agriculture, oil and gas, bio fuels and other renewable energy technologies that will provide jobs for Greeley residents.”

The new plant should boost business for local dairies, reported the Greeley Tribune. Producers in the area will have a closer location for delivering their milk, thus significantly reducing transportation costs, the newspaper said.

Catherine Merlo is Western editor for Dairy Today. You can reach her at cmerlo@farmjournal.com.