The grand opening for the $144 million Bel Brands cheese plant was held in Brookings on Friday. Frederic Nalis CEO of Bel Brands USA says the Mini Babybel plant will have a huge economic impact on the region.
Nalis says there were three key reasons they chose Brookings to locate the plant, but the biggest was the need to procure 500,000 pounds of milk per day.
He says they also needed a strong and skilled labor force. They’ve already hired 215 employees and plans are in the works to expand production which would require a total of 400 employees.
He says the overall package of incentives and tax breaks offered by the state was also a key in their site selection.
