Business

Economic development

May 10, 2008

Area cocoa plant near completion

The Humboldt Industrial Park in Hazle Township home to Archer Daniels Midland Co. facility.

By Jerry Lynott jlynott@timesleader.com
Business Writer
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HAZLE TWP. – As one phase of the project nears completion, another has begun with the hiring of workers at the Archer Daniels Midland Co. cocoa processing plant in the Humboldt North Industrial Park.

The Decatur, Ill.–based agricultural products processor has been advertising for maintenance technician and production worker positions at the 500,000-square-foot structure.

The production facility at the heart of the $95 million project is expected to be operational by midsummer, said company spokeswoman Beth Ragan. When completed, the workforce at the facility will number around 210.

Two years ago the company announced the selection of the Humboldt site for the state-of-the-art production facility.

The company had been looking to build somewhere within the Mid-Atlantic region in response to the growing demand for its products. It produces cocoa under the Ambrosia, De Zaan and Merckens brands used as ingredients in the candy and confection, beverage, baking and cereal, dairy and snack food markets, according to the company Web site.

The Humboldt plant will be ADM’s sixth cocoa processing facility in North America. The closest is in Glassboro, N.J. The company also has facilities in South America, Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia.

ADM indicated nearly all of the local jobs would be for hourly workers with a few salaried positions, according to a project overview provided to local governmental bodies in 2006.

Luzerne County, the Hazleton Area School District and the Hazle Township board of supervisors agreed to offer the company incentives to build through the Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance Act. The act, designed to encourage economic development, provides a tax-free period to companies that make improvements to real estate.

The project, built on 77 acres in the park, is not located in a Keystone Opportunity Zone, which also offers tax abatements.

Jerry Lynott, a Times Leader staff writer, can be contacted at 570 829-7237.

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