Lactalis expands in Idaho

French dairy giant Lactalis announced plans for making its Canyon County, Idaho site the largest of its nearly 200 sites worldwide. The 61,300-square-foot, $40 million (€30m) plant will produce fresh mozzarella. Lactalis will build it this year behind the existing plant on its property s just east of the Nampa city limits. It will be operational by spring 2013.

“This is a great day for Lactalis, particularly for the Nampa team,” says Jean Paul Quiblier, vice president of manufacturing and purchasing for Lactalis American Group. Fresh mozzarella is currently a relatively small sideline of the existing Nampa plant, with 40 workers producing around seven million pounds of the cheese per year, Lactalis says.

That output will increase to 40 million pounds per year of Galbani brand cheese when the new plant opens, taking on the existing 40 workers and hiring about 70 more, according to the report in the Idaho Statesman. The existing plant will continue its focus on producing string cheese, plus bulk and shredded mozzarella, and currently processes about 4.2 million pounds of milk a day.