Zach Jaworski
Reporting intern
Three years and $170 million later, a major Cayuga County dairy product manufacturer's expansion is almost complete — and expected to add nearly 200 jobs to the local economy.Â
Cayuga Milk Ingredients' new consumer products facility, an expansion codenamed "Project Falcon," will be celebrated with a grand opening in June at the 39 Eagle Drive Ext. facility in the town of Aurelius. The opening, which is not open to the public, will include remarks and tours with Cayuga Milk and partner Tetra Pak, producer of the facility's processing and filling equipment.
The 235,000-square-foot aseptic processing and bottling facility won't be fully completed until the end of the year, Cayuga Milk spokesperson Eden Ng told Â鶹ÊÓƵ. But as it prepares for the expansion, the company has added almost 40 jobs since December 2024 and plans to hire an additional 150 people by December 2026 — a rate of five to seven employees a week, she said.
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The mostly fall within the process of producing aseptic (shelf-stable) beverages: milk receiving and processing, plant management, quality assurance, engineering and more.
Ng said Cayuga Milk pivoted from its original plan to install one new machine for extended packaging runs, increasing volume but limiting the types of products and packaging they could use.
“(Our) pivot to eventually installing 11 new machines, capable of producing aseptic and extended shelf life (of) products, has resulted in a far more versatile operation,†she said.
Cayuga Milk Ingredients' new aseptic processing and bottling facility.
Ng said the expansion was also strategic because most of the farmers Cayuga Milk partners with reside within 25 miles of the facility — making it easier for their raw product to get there.
“This approach strengthens supply chain synergies, and enables us to maximize our nutritional impact while minimizing our environmental impact,†Ng said.
"Project Falcon" was made possible by almost $2 million in federal grants for upgrades to the water infrastructure of the industrial park where Cayuga Milk has been located since opening in 2014.
In 2022, $1.1 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds were awarded to the Cayuga County Industrial Development Authority for a new wastewater pumping station there.
The next year, the Northern Border Regional Authority awarded a $603,385 grant to the county to add 5,000 feet of water line and increase the park’s capacity by 1 million gallons per day.
Zoey Nelson is a sixth-generation dairy farmer and dairy manager at Brooks Farms in central Wisconsin. Established in 1855, her team has over 160 years of farming knowledge. On the farm, robotic feeders and automated milkers pick up what can be some of the most tedious, labor-intensive tasks. Streamlining the processes through technology frees up time and keeps farmers competitive.
Zach Jaworski is a reporting intern with Â鶹ÊÓƵ and . He can be reached at zach.jaworski@lee.net.
Zach Jaworski
Reporting intern
