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Byrne Dairy expanding one of its Syracuse-area plants

novemberdelta
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via Flickr

An increased demand for long-lasting dairy products has prompted Byrne Dairy to expand one of its three dairy processing facilities in the Syracuse area.

Byrne Dairy-owned Ultra Dairy wants to add about 100,000 square feet to its plant along Interstate 481 in DeWitt. The company says the expansion will allow them to add about 50 more jobs at the plant.

Ultra Dairy uses a more sterilized pasteurization process that allows products to have a shelf life of up to 140 days. The plant hasn't been able to keep up with orders lately, it told county economic development officials.

"We are finding that we're having capacity issues," says Jim Gosier, an attorney for Byrne Dairy. "We've had to turn a number of potential customers away."

Ultra Dairy considered putting the plant in Idaho, company officials told the Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency (OCIDA) this week, but decided instead to expand the facility here.

The deliberation over location has delayed the project, Gosier says, and they hope to break ground on the first phase next year.

Ultra Dairy is seeking tax breaks and financing help from OCIDA.

Byrne Dairy is headquartered in Syracuse. It draws milk from nearly 300 farms in central New York.