Catt. Co. Company: “Saving 32,000 Cows is Their Job”
By Carol Fisher-Linn
Cattaraugus County Assemblyman Joseph Giglio (pronounced “Gillio”) ended his remarks at the Groundbreaking for the new Great Lakes Cheese plant in Franklinville/Farmersville on Thursday by proclaiming that this new endeavor would save 32,000 local cows their employment. Although humorous, as were most of the speeches at this family-oriented event, whose humorous tone was set by MC Matt Wilkinson, VP of Great Lakes Cheese, their important message clearly hit home. THIS IS A BIG, HOLY COW DEAL, CATTARAUGUS COUNTY!
Giglio stressed, “This was the way it’s supposed to work. Everybody did their job.” And a gigantic job it was! You see, the hunt for a WNY property large and flat enough to accommodate the 500,000 square-foot new cheese manufacturing plant to replace the one in Cuba, as NYS Senator George Borrello very bluntly stated, was “quite a dumpster fire.” Determined to remain in this region, they reviewed 100 options but found themselves without feasible opportunities until Jason Schwab and Kody Sprague offered the 120+ acres upon which the plant will be constructed.
The Ohio-based company has eight plants across the United States. With a capital investment of $518M, this project is the largest infrastructure investment in the company’s history and the “largest economic development project in the history of Cattaraugus County since the IDA’s inception” stated CCIDA Executive Director Corey Wiktor. Kudos, CCIDA! Combined with the company’s processing facility in the North Country (Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, St. Lawrence, Jefferson and Lewis Counties) Great Lakes Cheese now uses about 14.4% of New York’s total milk production. When this new plant is in operation (2025), it will double its milk consumption to 1.42 billion pounds annually. Not sure how many Olympic-sized swimming pools that will fill, but it’s great news for NYS dairy farmers!
Have you ever been invited to one of these groundbreaking affairs? People walk through the muck, shake hands with politicians and important company officials and acknowledge company/community members and guests. They grab seats for the (yawn) endless self-back-patting, shout-outs to power players, drawn-out stories and endless change of characters at the podium. Surprisingly, this was not like that. It felt more like a family gathering. Attendees were personally greeted with a handshake from the President/CEO Dan Zagzebski and once seated, remarks were humorous, short, and noteworthy. The audience included founding-family members and many smiling employee-owners. The 64-year-old Great Lakes Cheese is both a several-generation Epprecht family, and a 4000-employee-owned company. Through its Employee Stock Ownership Plan, all employees have a stake in the business and share in the rewards. That might explain the happy faces at the ground-breaking. Dale Carnegie was spot-on when he said that “People support a world they helped create.” Founder Hans Epprecht wisely put employees first.
Great Lakes Cheese is a national manufacturer and packager of natural and process bulk, shredded and sliced cheeses. It is the country’s largest natural cheese packager serving grocery, club, and super stores as well as restaurant chains and foodservice distributors. NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets Commissioner, Richard Ball commented: “The new facility is a legacy plant for New York State for the next fifty to one-hundred years, keeping dairy-related livelihoods viable. Now, that’s a BIG DEAL, folks! Ball stated that their mission is to connect the dots, creating one of the greatest ag communities in the world, right here in Western New York. Referencing the travesty of how farmers were forced to dump milk in the recent years, he expressed optimism for a strong supply chain in NYS. In Franklinville/Farmersville! Amazing!
Another big thing … JOBS! The company will retain 228 owner-employees while adding another 215 permanent, full-time jobs for potential owner-employees in the local communities ranging in salary from $45,000 to $200,000, per Cattaraugus County officials. Franklinville School District future graduates will be one source of new owner-employees. The firm is also prepared to work with local colleges to guarantee trained individuals for future hire.
US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand was among the attendees. Known to avidly support the work both incubators and small business are doing to in the Southern Tier, she was present at this large company event as a supportive guest who told this writer “Please understand, I am always here for the people of Western New York.”