SCHNECKSVILLE, PA — Chobani plans to invest $1.2 billion in its first Pennsylvania dairy manufacturing operation, creating more than 900 Lehigh Valley jobs and establishing a processor expected to consume nearly 30% of the milk currently produced statewide, Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration reported Tuesday.
The company will acquire Keurig Dr Pepper’s 1.5 million-square-foot manufacturing facility at 7356 Industrial Blvd. in Upper Macungie Township, including its equipment and related infrastructure.
Production under Chobani is expected to begin in 2027. The company plans to manufacture food products beyond yogurt at the property.
At full capacity, the facility is projected to process more than 3 billion pounds of Pennsylvania milk annually. That would represent the largest increase in demand for the state’s dairy production in Pennsylvania history, according to the administration.
The planned workforce will be added over five years. State officials described the project as the largest private investment in Pennsylvania’s agriculture industry.
Pennsylvania will provide $50 million in loans and grants through the PA SITES program to support infrastructure and site improvements tied to the facility and surrounding region.
The state will also make $127 million in loans and grants available to eligible dairy farmers seeking to expand production to meet the anticipated demand. The administration did not specify how much of that funding had already been awarded.
Chobani could qualify for additional tax credits through the Pennsylvania Milk Processing Tax Credit, part of the state’s PA EDGE economic-development program. The release did not provide an estimated value for those potential credits.
The project is also receiving support through Pennsylvania’s Permit Fast Track Program, which coordinates and expedites permitting for designated economic-development and infrastructure projects.
“When we walked into this factory, we knew it was a great fit for what we want to build for the future,” Chobani founder and Chief Executive Officer Hamdi Ulukaya said.
Ulukaya credited Pennsylvania dairy farmers and government officials with helping advance the project, which he described as a base for producing food with milk sourced in the state and distributed nationally.
Pennsylvania has approximately 4,300 family-owned dairy farms. The new processing capacity could provide those operations with an expanded in-state market for their milk, according to the administration.
Local partners supporting the project include the Lehigh County Authority, Upper Macungie Township, Lower Macungie Township, South Whitehall Township and the City of Allentown.
The investment places Chobani within one of Pennsylvania’s largest economic sectors. The state has more than 48,800 farms, while agriculture contributes more than $132 billion annually to the economy and supports nearly 600,000 jobs, according to the administration.
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