ONEIDA — HP Hood has completed a $36 million expansion of its Oneida facility, in Madison County. The expansion includes the addition of 25 new jobs at the plant. According to the New York Power Authority (NYPA), the expansion is the result of an allocation of low-cost power from the state’s ReCharge NY program. “The power […]
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The expansion includes the addition of 25 new jobs at the plant.
According to the New York Power Authority (NYPA), the expansion is the result of an allocation of low-cost power from the state’s ReCharge NY program.
“The power allocation is directly tied to the firm’s completed expansion project and its commitment to retain approximately 200 existing jobs and hire more than 25 new employees,” according to a news release from NYPA. The Hood Oneida facility is receiving 280 kilowatts of expansion power from the ReCharge program.
Gil C. Quiniones, NYPA president and CEO, said, “ReCharge NY has been a great benefit to Central New York, creating nearly 1,200 jobs in the region since power was first provided under the governor’s program in 2012. This expansion project by HP Hood is great news for the local community as it signals the company’s strong commitment to the area.”
The expansion included the installation of an additional milk production line, cold storage, food security, and expanded capacity. The Oneida facility produces about 113 milk and fluid products, according to the release. It supplies major warehouse operations that provide foodservice, retail and wholesale firms with dairy products manufactured in Oneida and from other Hood facilities.
“We are pleased with the results of the program and would like to extend our gratitude to Governor Cuomo and the New York Power Authority for providing significant support to this expansion project. Having been customers of the governor’s ReCharge NY program for several years, we’re aware of how impactful the program’s lower cost power has been in sustaining our daily operations and providing us with the ability to reinvest in our facility,” said Lynne Bohan, spokesperson for Hood.
The company has been a NYPA ReCharge NY customer since 2012 when the Oneida location received 800 kilowatts of retention power under the program. In addition to serving Hood in Oneida, NYPA also provides ReCharge NY power to Hood locations in Arkport, LaFargeville, and Vernon. Hood is also building a plant in Batavia that will open next year with 230 employees, according to the release.
ReCharge NY offers up to seven-year power contracts. Half of the power is 455 megawatts from NYPA’s Niagara and St. Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt hydroelectric power plants. The remaining 455 megawatts is purchased by NYPA on the wholesale market, the release stated. It added that the program includes nearly 100 businesses and not-for-profit organizations in Central New York, directly supporting the creation or retention of more than 20,000 jobs and nearly $1.2 billion in capital investments.
There remains more than 140 megawatts of low-cost power still available to be allocated to businesses and not-for-profit organizations throughout the state, according to the release.
Sen. Joe Griffo (R–Rome) said, “I congratulate HP Hood in Madison County for the successful completion of its facility expansion and for the creation of more than 25 new jobs. This is exactly the kind of project and subsequent job creation and retention that the ReCharge NY program, formerly the Power for Jobs program, was established to effectuate. I would also add that the Hood line of products, which incorporate healthy and abundant New York milk supplies, are some of the most delicious milk and cheese products imaginable and I am very pleased to see this company doing so well.”
“The addition of more than 25 jobs at HP Hood, its economic investment in its facility, and its commitment to remaining in Madison County is welcome news. Programs such as ReCharge NY that help HP Hood and other major employers retain and increase their workforce are directly benefitting our local communities all over Central New York,” Sen. David J. Valesky (D–Oneida) said.