Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bill Hagerty, along with Great Lakes Cheese officials announced the company will open its first Southeast manufacturing facility at the Manchester Industrial Park in Manchester, Tenn. Great Lakes Cheese will invest $100 million and create over 200 new jobs in Coffee County.
“I want to thank Great Lakes Cheese for their valuable investment and welcome them to Tennessee,” Haslam said. “It speaks very highly of our state’s qualified and dedicated workforce when a company decides to expand here in Tennessee. I appreciate Great Lakes Cheese’s confidence in our state as they help us toward our goal of becoming the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs.”
“Tennessee’s ideal location, first-class infrastructure and unparalleled logistical advantages allows companies like Great Lakes Cheese to feel confident in their decision to open a new facility here that will yield a high return on investment,” Hagerty said. “I appreciate Great Lakes Cheese’s investment and look forward to their continued presence in Tennessee.”
Great Lakes Cheese will construct a 330,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Manchester. The new facility will be the 4th super plant that Great Lakes Cheese operates and its 9th facility nationwide.
“The decision to open another super plant is a measure of our commitment to delivering quality cheese products to our customers who count on Great Lakes for logistical efficiencies,” Vice President of Operations for Great Lakes Craig Filkouski said. “We believe that having strategically placed manufacturing facilities is essential to serving the evolving needs of our customers and to provide opportunities for future growth.”
The new facility also adds capacity for new customer acquisition in the southeastern United States. Employment at this new plant is anticipated to reach 200 people by 2019.
“I am looking forward to working with the Great Lakes Cheese Company and consider this to be a long term partnership with our community,” Coffee County Mayor David Pennington said. “Thank you for picking Coffee County to be your home.”
“The city of Manchester is very fortunate that Great Lakes Cheese has selected the city of Manchester for their business. It will be a positive impact offering employment opportunities and retail growth for the city of Manchester and Coffee County,” Manchester Mayor Lonnie Norman said. “The aldermen were in agreement with all that was asked of the city of Manchester. The city appreciates the Coffee County Industrial Board’s long hours of work and efforts to bring Great Lakes Cheese to Manchester. Manchester welcomes Great Lakes Cheese.”
“I am extremely excited that Great Lakes Cheese has selected the Manchester Industrial Park as the site for their new plant,” Coffee County Industrial Board Chairman Bill Comer said. “This huge operation is a great first occupant of the park and will provide many high quality jobs for area residents. This successful recruitment was the result of a cooperative effort among the Coffee County Industrial Board, the Coffee County Commission, and the Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen.”
"TVA and Duck River EMC are pleased to welcome Great Lakes Cheese as they announce plans to open a new manufacturing facility in Manchester,” TVA Senior Vice President of Economic Development John Bradley said. “It’s always a great day when companies announce major investments and jobs in our region. The strong partnerships like those we have with the state of Tennessee, city of Manchester, and the Coffee County Industrial Board continue to facilitate decisions by companies to locate and grow in our communities."
Great Lakes Cheese is headquartered in Hiram, Ohio and has seven other locations: Fillmore, Utah; Plymouth, Wis.; Adams, N.Y.; Cuba, N.Y.; La Crosse, Wis.; Wausau, Wis.; and Seymour, Wis.
Great Lakes Cheese anticipates they will begin the hiring process for the new facility in fall of 2014. More information will be available at http://www.greatlakescheese.com/careers.
About Great Lakes Cheese
Great Lakes Cheese is an award-winning, premier manufacturer and packer of natural and processed bulk, shredded, and sliced cheeses. Superior cheese products are provided from coast-to-coast through eight state-of-the-art production plants. As one of the largest packagers of cheese in the United States, Great Lakes serves grocery, club and super stores as well as restaurant chains and foodservice distributors. The company manufactures, packages and distributes a portfolio of private label and Adams Reserve branded cheese products. Privately owned with over fifty years of experience, each plant is SQF Certified to meet or exceed global food safety regulations.
About the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development
The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development’s mission is to develop strategies, which help make Tennessee the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs. The department seeks to attract new corporate investment in Tennessee and works with Tennessee companies to facilitate expansion and economic growth. Find us on the web: tn.gov/ecd. Follow us on Twitter: @tnecd. Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/tnecd.