Categories: Construction, Design & Real EstateManufacturing & EngineeringRegional NewsSubscriber Only

Agri-Mark’s North Country expansion cements long-term presence

An aerial view of Agri-Mark’s cheese-manufacturing facility in Chateaugay in Franklin County. The state says the dairy cooperative, which produces Cabot and McCadam cheese products, has wrapped up a $30 million expansion and modernization project at the facility. (PHOTO CREDIT: NEW YORK STATE)

CHATEAUGAY, N.Y. — The North Country facility that produces Cabot and McCadam cheese products has helped set itself up for the future with a nearly $30 million expansion and modernization project in Chateaugay in Franklin County. David Lynn, CEO of Agri-Mark, called it a “special day” for the company, the plant and its employees, and […]

Already an Subcriber? Log in

Get Instant Access to This Article

Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.

Learn More and Become a Subscriber

David Lynn, CEO of Agri-Mark, called it a “special day” for the company, the plant and its employees, and especially for its 174 dairy-farm families in the North Country.

“This modernization project solidifies our long-term presence in Chateaugay,” Lynn said in a statement. “It ensures that we’ll have a sustainable facility that can process the milk our farmers produce, provide a safe, modern workplace for our employees, and continue to produce the award-winning cheeses our customers and consumers have to come to expect from our McCadam and Cabot brands.”

The expansion, which was a multi-phase project, is retaining more than 100 full-time jobs and supporting more than 500 agricultural jobs in the region, the office of Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a June 16 announcement.

Empire State Development is supporting the dairy-processing facility’s expansion with $6 million in funding, including $4 million in Economic Transformation Program funds.

Agri-Mark is headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts. Agri-Mark, Inc. is a dairy cooperative and certified B-Corp that’s owned by hundreds of farm families throughout New England and upstate New York, per its website.

“Not only will [Agri-Mark’s expanded facility] support hundreds of jobs in the region, but it will [also] ensure that New Yorkers and people around the globe can enjoy the award-winning cheeses coming straight from the dairy farmers of Upstate New York,” Hochul said in a statement.

A ribbon-cutting event marked the completion of a 9,600 square-foot expansion. The most recent addition was a cheese-production room, which has “improved the facility’s efficiency.”

The expansion project also included the rebuilding of the 110,000-square-foot manufacturing center, reconfiguring the layout of the facility, and purchasing new equipment and machinery, per Hochul’s office.

Eric Reinhardt