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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Glanbia Foods To Relocate To A $15 Million Cheese Innovation Center In Downtown Twin Falls, Idaho

07/25/2012
Glanbia Foods, a producer of American style cheeses, plans to relocate to a $15 million state-of-the-art Cheese Innovation Center and corporate headquarters in downtown Twin Falls, Idaho, where it will employ 150 workers.

Headquartered outside the city's downtown for over 20 years, Glanbia entered into a long-term lease agreement with Uptown Developers, who will acquire the property from the Twin Falls Urban Renewal Agency and invest $15 million to build a three-story 35,000-square-foot office complex and a 14,000-square-foot research center at Shoshone Street South and Hansen Street. The cheese producer said its new larger facility will support its growing export and new cheese product innovation efforts. The site, slated to open next spring, will initially employ 100 workers with room for expansion to 150.

As an incentive, the Twin Falls Urban Renewal Agency will provide about $800,000 in improvements to the site and provide additional parking in the area.

"Glanbia's has a bright future in southern Idaho and we are here to stay," said Jeff Williams, president and CEO of Glanbia Foods. "Our new corporate headquarters will consolidate our executive and administration employees under one roof but more importantly, our Cheese Innovation Center will allow us to develop new value added cheese products, processes, services and solutions to meet the changing needs of our customers," he said. "Thanks to the superior quality milk provided by local dairy farmers, we are able to expand our products and services to an expanding national and global cheese market. This new Glanbia complex will serve as the bridge to our future."

The firm said its Cheese Innovation Center will provide additional resources to build relationships with its national and international customers, suppliers, and universities in developing new cheese making processes and products.The CIC will also help streamline work needed to move products from pilot plant scale to full scale production.

"The most efficient and effective way of creating new jobs in our state is to support our existing Idaho companies by helping them grow and expand," said Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter. "We are proud of Glanbia and its long-standing commitment to the Magic Valley. This new expansion represents a significant investment in our state and is in keeping with Glanbia's position as a state-of-of the-art leader in its industry."

Mayor Greg Lanting noted Glanbia's expansion in the historic downtown Twin Falls district will serve as an anchor for further business growth and commerce. "The economic impact of Glanbia's presence in downtown will be significant," Lanting said. "We anticipate a boom to this area over the years, thanks to Glanbia's commitment to this community," he said.

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