Bel Brands to build cheese plant in South Dakota

Bel Brands USA, a subsidiary of Paris-based Fromageries Bel, has unveiled plans to invest $100m to build a cheese production plant in Brookings, South Dakota, US.

The construction of the 170,000ft² plant is expected to start this summer and the company expects to commence initial production by 2013.

The city of Brookings has provided the company with a 48 acre industrial site, has authorised $7m in bonds to finance improvements at the site, and will offer $11.7m for plant construction.

Bel Brands USA president and CEO Lance Chambers said the robust South Dakota dairy industry and its hardworking Midwestern values make Brookings an ideal location for the new plant.

‘Bel Brands has experienced significant growth over the past few years and this new plant is essential to expanding our production capacity to meet the growing demand for our Mini Babybel cheeses,’ Chambers added.

Bel will source milk from 12,000 to 14,000 dairy cows for the plant each day to produce the Mini Babybel line of semi-soft snack cheeses, which are currently available in nine flavours in the US.

The plant will initially employ 200 people and increase its hiring to reach the 400-employee mark within three years once it becomes fully operational in 2014.

The facility will be built according to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) specifications and will feature a pretreatment unit, a storm water retention pond, and will have room for further expansion.

This will be the third cheese facility for Bel Brands, after the opening of plants in Wisconsin and Kentucky.

Fromageries Bel specialises in the production of processed and semi-processed cheeses, and has facilities in 22 countries. Products are available in 120 countries across the world.

Caption: The new Bel Brands plant will produce the Mini Babybel line of semi-soft snack cheeses when it commences initial production in 2013. Image courtesy of Bel Group