Mississauga, Ont.-based cookie maker expanding N.Y. operations

PERRY, N.Y.—Canadian cookie maker Creative Food Ingredients Inc. (CFI) is investing US$2.8 million to expand its plant south of Rochester, N.Y., adding more than 50 jobs there.

CFI, headquartered in Mississauga, Ont., will add 75,000 sq.ft. to its plant in Perry, N.Y., located about 75 kilometres southwest of Rochester, bringing total space to 200,000 sq.ft

The company will also add 56 jobs at the plant, bringing total employment to 186, according to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office.

“Manufacturing companies like Creative Food Ingredients are part of the backbone of the Upstate (New York) economy, and supporting their efforts to expand means creating jobs and new opportunities for New Yorkers throughout the region,” Cuomo said in a statement.

“I am proud that the state is helping this business expand both its facility and its workforce, and I look forward to seeing it thrive long into the future.”

According to Cuomo’s office, Empire State Development (ESD), the state’s economic development agency, will provide as much as US$500,000 to CFI in performance-based Excelsior Jobs Program tax credits, while the Wyoming County Industrial Development Agency will provide a further US$533,000 in incentives, including mortgage and sales tax exemptions.

“We are extremely pleased to have received the recognition and support from various levels of government,” CFI chief executive Michael O’Flaherty said. “We are approaching 20 years of manufacturing in Perry and we are excited about the prospect of bringing additional employment opportunities to the local community and area.”

CFI, which bills its plant in Perry as a tree- and peanut-free facility, manufactures a variety of cookie products, including the cookie insert for Twix candy bars, manufactured by Mars, Inc.

The company’s largest customer is the Hershey Co.

Construction of the addition at CFI’s plant is expected to begin this month.