Greeley Leprino factory still on schedule, VP says

LOVELAND – The senior vice president of Denver-based Leprino Foods said Wednesday that the timetable for the construction of a new mozzarella-cheese factory plant in Greeley is on target and should begin within the next few months.

Mike Reidy told a group of about 50 people at The Ranch in Loveland that the proposed 870,000-square-foot facility to be built on the site of the former Great Western Sugar plant just east of downtown Greeley will be the company’s tenth plant in the U.S.

Leprino also operates a cheese plant in Fort Morgan that opened in 1994.

“I am hopeful you’ll start to see some earth moving within the next few months,” Reidy said. Leprino razed the old sugar buildings from the 94-acre site last year.

When the first phase is complete in 2011, the Greeley facility will employ about 400 people and process about 5.5 million pounds of milk delivered by 110 tanker trucks each day.

Reidy said the cheese industry is currently suffering from a weakened demand caused by the global recession and a decline in exports. But he said he expected that will change soon.

“The world has a very solid appetite for dairy proteins,” he said. “(Demand) may have slowed down but it’s not going to go away.”

Leprino Foods, a family operation started in 1950, produces only mozzarella cheese for pizza, string cheese and other products.

Reidy’s informational presentation was hosted by the Larimer Country Agricultural Advisory Board and the Weld County Extension Service. 

on Facebook on LinkedIn