RPI Newsletter | Quarter 1 2018

FOREMOST FARMS

Foremost Farms invests $57.9 million in Greenville with assistance from The Right Place

These resources and commitments include: • The Michigan Strategic Fund (MSF) is supporting the expansion with a private activity bond inducement valued at up to $12 million. Approval of the bond authorizing resolution is expected to take place at an upcoming MSF meeting. • The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) is supporting the project with a $500,000 grant from its Food and Agriculture Investment Fund. • The City of Greenville plans to support the project with a 12-year property tax abatement valued at $2.33 million. • The MEDC will consider incentive support for the project at a future date. • The company is also expected to receive a grant fromWest Michigan Works!. “Through the many evolutions this project has taken, there have been a number of quick responses needed from the many partners involved at all levels,” said Kathy Jo VanderLaan, Business Development - Montcalm County, The Right Place, Inc., and Montcalm Economic Alliance. “The City of Greenville has gone above and beyond with their participation and flexibility. Representative Jim Lower played a key role in getting this over the finish line. The result will be new jobs for people in our community, future growth opportunities, and relief for Michigan dairy farmers.” To learn more about Foremost Farms, please visit www.foremostfarms.com .

“Foremost Farms’ executive management and board of directors are very appreciative of The Right Place, MEDC, the City of Greenville, MDARD, MDOT,WestMichigan Works!, and Representative Jim Lower, along with all of the other combined agencies in making this a reality to strategically build this facility in Greenville,” said Foremost Farms President and CEO Michael Doyle. “It is an ideal location as a manufacturing base for Foremost Farms USA to unify our seven-state cooperative membership’s milk. Our goal is to develop and grow this facility to continually meet the value-added needs of our customers. This, along with furtherdeveloping our strategic alliancewith Michigan Milk Producers Association that began at Constantine, Michigan, will add value for our members and all producers in this market,” Doyle added. The Right Place, Inc., Montcalm Economic Alliance, and the City of Greenville served as the key partnerswith Foremost; however, the agencies also worked collaboratively with MDARD, MEDC, West Michigan Works!, Montcalm Community College, and other local resources to help bring Foremost to Greenville.

Wisconsin-based dairy processing cooperative, Foremost Farms, has announced it will be investing $57.9 million to build a 55,000 square foot milk-condensing facility in the Greenville Industrial Park. Foremost hopes to break ground on the first phase of the multi- year endeavor in the coming weeks with the intention of being operational before the end of the year. The first phase is expected to create 33 jobs. Foremost Farms officials hope this initial investment will spur the development of a large-scale dairy processing campus over the next several years. Foremost is already engaged in talks with additional companies in creating value-added production facilities on the campus to serve Foremost’s cooperative partners. Once open, the plant will condense 3.2 million pounds of raw milk per day (roughly 386,000 gallons). The final product, condensed milk solids such as cream and skimmilk, would beused byForemostco-op facilities and strategic alliance partners around the Midwest to further process the condensed milk into products such as cheese, butter, and yogurt.

6

2018 ECONOMIC SUCCESS STORIES

Made with FlippingBook Online newsletter