Press release from the Genesee County Economic Development Center:
For the second year in a row Genesee County has been recognized in the top five of the rankings for Metro Food Processing Industry Growth by the National Site Selection publication, Business Facilities Magazine (July/August Edition). Genesee County has New York State's highest percentage of classified farmland, three of the top 100 vegetable farms nationwide and is first in agriculture sales statewide. More than two-thirds of Genesee County's acreage is used for agriculture and employs more than 1,500 workers.
Agri-Business is the number one industry in Genesee County and naturally where the crop is grown and the cows are plenty, food processing plants spring up. Genesee County is home to O-AT-KA Milk, Yancey’s Fancy, Allan’s Canning, and the new home of Alpina Foods, LLC.
“The completion of the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park and the announcement of Colombia-based Alpina Foods, LLC’s decision to build its first U.S. manufacturing plant at the park underscores the strength of our region’s food and beverage manufacturing sector,” stated Steve Hyde, president and CEO of Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC). “We have strategically invested in building an infrastructure to attract food and dairy processing companies."
Alpina, one of the most recognized dairy companies in the world and a leading dairy producing company in Colombia and South America, has decided to open its first specialty yogurt manufacturing plant in the United States by mid-August and will be the first occupant of the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park.
The GCEDC has developed the largest agri-business park in the nation. The Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park, a public-private partnership between GCEDC and Farm Credit East, encompasses 202 shovel-ready, pre-permitted acres in the center of Western New York.
The park was designed with food-processing companies in mind, and on site there is access to low cost process water via a local aquifer – that produces more than 6+ million gallons per day and a pretreatment facility (Ecolab). A robust utility infrastructure throughout includes rail access. In 2010 municipal water lines were brought into the park as well as gas and electric and the main roadway was constructed. Recently the GCEDC was awarded a $3.9 million New York State grant to bring rail and a cross dock into the park.
Supporting the agri-business industry of Genesee County are world-class Universities including Cornell and Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). Cornell University is the leader in food science research and transfers research-based information and technology for the food systems of New York State. Within the department of Food Science, six organizations specifically provide direct support to the dairy industry.
RIT’s Packaging Science Department works closely with a variety of companies in Genesee County and across the U.S. to create sustainable environmentally friendly packaging. The university also explores cooperative global opportunities for students to work in manufacturing facilities.
The university resources, skilled workforce and available facilities, combined with the area’s steep agri-business and manufacturing heritage give rise to unbridled growth in Genesee County’s food processing capabilities.
