Great Lakes Cheese recently broke ground on a $11.5 million project that will add 52,000 square feet of cold storage space to its Enterprise Avenue facility.
How much cheese can a fridge that size hold?
“A lot,” plant manager Walt Ehret said.
About 160 truckloads, which at 40,000 pounds per load means 3,200 tons of cheese — enough to make more than 100 million sandwiches.
The company, headquartered in Hiram, Ohio, primarily makes processed cheese slices at the La Crosse plant for restaurant chains and private label retail.
The plant now has to use three different warehouses about 50 miles away for cold storage.
“We’re attempting to reduce operating costs and dependency on third-party warehouses,” Ehret said.
Construction began three weeks ago and will be completed by May. No new local jobs will be created, but the expanded facility will benefit existing workers and the company as a whole, Ehret said.
Source: LaCrosseTribune