BRATTLEBORO, Vt. — Ehrmann Commonwealth Dairy announced Tuesday it was launching a $20 million expansion, that would double the amount of Greek yogurt and other dairy products it makes in its 6-year-old Brattleboro plant.
CEO Tom Moffitt said the company would establish Brattleboro as its corporate headquarters, rejecting either Ohio or its second plant in Arizona, as its headquarters.
Gov. Peter Shumlin said that he was awarding $1 million in economic development funds from the Windham County Economic Development Program, funded by Entergy Nuclear.
Entergy had pledged $10 million to the local economy after it shut down Vermont Yankee two years ago.
Shumlin said Commonwealth “made the best yogurt in Vermont,” and said its expansion was good news for the state’s dairy industry, as well as the local economy.
Commonwealth uses 5 percent of all the milk produced in Vermont; its expansion plans would increase that amount to 10 percent, said Moffit and others. The company buys 110 million pounds of milk a year, most of it from Vermont farmers.
The company currently buys its milk from the St. Albans Cooperative, Moffit said.
The company moved into its new plant at the Delta Business Park six years ago and already has expanded once. It employs 150 people, and Tuesday’s expansion will increase that by another 50 employees within two years.
In addition to the $1 million in Vermont Yankee economic development funds, the Vermont Economic Progress Council has given initial approval for the company to earn up to $648,327 in tax incentives. The state pledged an additional $200,000 from the Vermont Training Program, and $100,000 in federal highway funds to upgrade the wastewater treatment facility that serves Delta Park.
Brattleboro will contribute $250,000 in a grant and property tax stabilization agreements.
Kate O’Connor, vice-chairwoman of the Brattleboro Select Board and the executive director of the Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce, said the town wanted Commonwealth to stay in town and expand. “It’s not only a boost for Brattleboro, but a big boost for Windham County,” she said, noting her personal favorite was the company’s pudding. “It’s worth every calorie,” she said.
Arnold Grinold, executive director of the Brattleboro Development Credit Corp., said the announcement, nine months in the works, was “a big day for Brattleboro.”
Christian Ehrmann, chairman of Ehrmann, the German company that partnered with Moffitt, said the company was growing fast, and the parent company was very proud of the Vermont-based company’s success.
Exactly where the new headquarters will be built in Brattleboro is not known, Moffitt said. The current site at Delta Park isn’t big enough for expansion. The company has bought land adjoining the park, but across a gully, he said. There is the possibility the company will build its headquarters closer to downtown, Moffit said.
He said many office workers already work in downtown Brattleboro because Commonwealth had already outgrown its Delta Park location, and added the new headquarters would house the research and development arm of the company.
Moffit credited Shumlin and the name of its yogurt, Green Mountain Creamery, as the main reasons the company stayed in Vermont.
He said the Green Mountain Creamery brand was its fastest growing product.