Alamance Foods has announced that it will press ahead with a proposed expansion in Burlington thanks to the company’s receipt of a state level grant that will partially offset this $36.6 million endeavor.
The Burlington-based food processor firmed up its plans for this project on Friday, which was initially unveiled in July when the company asked Burlington’s city council to sponsor its application to North Carolina’s Rural Infrastructure Authority.
As part of this project, Alamance Foods has agreed to add at least 144 new employees to its operations along Cedar Crest Drive, which will be upgraded to produce a new line of drinkable yogurt.
On Thursday, Governor Josh Stein announced that Alamance Foods had secured $500,0000 from the cache of $5 million that the rural infrastructure authority has approved for projects across North Carolina. A day later, Alamance Foods issued a news release to confirm its plans to proceed with the upgrade on Cedar Crest Drive.
“Alamance Foods is honored to partner with the State of North Carolina and the City of Burlington on this investment that will continue to grow our local economy,” Hannah Kovarick, the company’s vice president of finance, supply chain & human resources, declared in the news release.
“This partnership supports our vision of delivering the highest quality, cutting edge innovation, and shaping the future of food. Most importantly, it will allow for our continued long-term commitment of growing jobs, expanding manufacturing, and investing back into Alamance County.”
According to information that was presented to Burlington’s city council in July, Alamance Foods will launch the new upgrade as quickly as possible – with the expectation that production of the new drinkable yogurt will begin by the middle of 2027.
As a condition of the company’s state grant, Burlington has agreed to chip in a 5-percent match worth $25,000. The city had made a similar contribution in 2023 when the company received another state allocation to jumpstart an expansion of $42 million and 135 new employees along Cedar Crest Drive, which is located near Burlington’s municipal border with Graham.
