The picture came a bit clearer today at the annual Genesee County Economic Development Center luncheon on how the agency landed a $206 million joint-venture Greek yogurt plant for Batavia.
Mark Koenig, director of engineering and technology at the PepsiCo Global Nutrition Group, said while there were a few reasons Pepsi and the Theo Muller Group picked the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park for Project Wave, a key was getting site-grading permits within 15 days.
Koenig, who heads up similar projects for Pepsi all over the world, lost a bet with Chris Suozzi, VP of Business Development for GCEDC.
"I bet him my house, my wife and my salary that he couldn't get us permitted in 15 days," Koenig said. "I've never seen a greenfield site get permitted in 15 days. I said, 'there's no way.'"
He added, "This team delivered."
The 15-day permitting process allowed Wave Holding LLC to fast-track its development plans, which Suozzi agreed after the meeting was absolutely critical in bringing the project to Batavia.
Without the 15-day permitting, Pepsi and Muller would have been looking at a 30-month process to get its new Greek yogurt products to market. The current timeline is 18 months, all because Town of Batavia officials were able to move the permitting process along quickly.
Earlier this week, GCEDC CEO Steve Hyde told county legislators that Souzzi was instrumental in getting Batavia from the B-list for the project to the final four possible sites.
Koenig also said of critical importance to Pepsi and Muller was the world-class dairy industry in Western New York.
"This is an ag area that is the best in class and that's why we're here," Koenig said. "You have a good milk supply and your milk is the best in its class."
It also helps that from Batavia, Wave Holding can easily reach a third of the potential market in the U.S. for its new Greek yogurt.
Pepsi partnered with Germany-based Muller, Koenig said, because Muller has proprietary recipes and world-class technology for producing yogurt.
The incentive package put together by NYS and GCEDC was also important, Koenig said, but Pepsi was also impressed by the warm welcome the company has received from the community.
"The community support has been fantastic," Koenig said. "All signs say this is going to be a success with the community for years to come and in future growth."
Top: Koenig; bottom, Hanno Lehmann, a senior project manager from the Muller Group.
