Yancey's Fancy

Press release:

The Genesee County Economic Development Center approved incentives for development projects by Yancey's Fancy in Pembroke and Gateway GS LLC in the Town of Batavia at the agency’s Sept. 7 board meeting.

Yancey's Fancy is investing $5.5 million to renovate the original Kutters Cheese facility at 857 Main St. in Pembroke. The renovations will allow the company to nearly double its natural cheese making capacity by expanding the facility by 6,000 square feet, bringing the total size to 34,000 square feet. The project is anticipated to create 15 new jobs.

Yancey's Fancy was approved for approximately $173,000 in sales, and property tax exemptions. For every $1 of public investment, Yancey's Fancy will invest $117 into the local economy.

Gateway GS LLC is investing $2.6 million to construct a 25,000-square-foot shell spec built facility intended to attract warehouse, distribution, light manufacturing, technology and office space tenants. The building will be engineered as a shell so that prospective tenants will control the buildout, making it more flexible as compared to fitting out the entire building. It is expected that a complete build-out will occur in five phases.

Gateway GS LLC was approved for approximately $140,000 for sales tax and mortgage tax incentives. For every $1 of public investment, Gateway GS LLC will invest $6.90 into the local economy.

“As important as it is to bring new companies and investment to our community such as Gateway GS, it is just as important to help companies such as Yancey's Fancy that are already here to grow and retain and create new jobs,” said GCEDC Board Chairman Paul Battaglia.

Press release:

On February 20, 2017 twenty 4-H Dairy Club members and their families were given a private tour of the new processing facility at Yancey’s Fancy.

The young dairy enthusiasts were given a behind the scenes look at the commercial dairy processing industry and left the tour with a visual understanding of how artisan cheese is produced.

To learn more about the Genesee County  4-H Youth Development Program visit our website: http://genesee.cce.cornell.edu/4-h-youth-development 

Press release: 

National Grid has awarded grants of up to $350,000 to support improvements in Yancey’s Fancy current manufacturing operations, and the construction of a new, 112,000-square-foot cheese manufacturing, packaging, warehousing and distribution facility. The new site will be built on 12 acres in the Buffalo East Technology Park in Pembroke.

The new facility has a capital investment of $20.6 million, will create approximately 50 new jobs, and retain 100 existing jobs. It is expected to officially open next month. National Grid will provide up to $250,000 toward electric infrastructure costs.

A second grant of up to $100,000 is available to assist with the design of advanced technology to manage the whey by-product that is generated through the cheese-making process. That will be part of a 3,500-square-foot expansion of its current operations at 857 Main Road in Corfu. The new system will allow for more efficient processing of the whey, which is used as a common food additive and for animal feed production. The project requires an upgrade of the current electric service to meet new demand. The $2.64 million project will create 17 new jobs and retain 30 jobs.

“Yancey’s Fancy is a thriving local company that is creating jobs and a strong brand here in Western New York and across the country,” said Dennis Elsenbeck, regional executive for National Grid in Western New York. “Genesee County continues to be a model for economic development through its collaborative approach to creating a positive climate for businesses to grow and expand, like Yancey’s Fancy.”

“National Grid has been a great partner through the years in our economic development efforts,” said Steve Hyde, president and CEO of the Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC). “In this instance, National Grid is providing critically important grants to sustain and grow the operations of one the largest employers in our region. It’s another example of the public and private sector collaboration that is resulting in the creation of new jobs and investment.”

The grants to Yancey’s Fancy are from National Grid’s Electric Capital Investment Incentive Program, which assists growing customers with costs of upgrading utility infrastructure to accommodate a business expansion or new construction that creates and retains jobs.

Information about National Grid’s suite of economic programs is available at www.shovelready.com.

Press release:

The Board of Directors of the Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) will consider at its Oct. 3 board meeting final resolutions for tax exemptions related to Yancey’s Fancy’s new processing facility and an expansion project proposed by Alpina Foods.

Yancey’s Fancy is seeking sales tax and mortgage tax exemptions and a property tax abatement to build a new facility within the Buffalo East Technology Park (BETP) located in Pembroke. Yancey’s Fancy plans to purchase approximately 12 acres within the BETP and build a 112,000-square-foot facility. The company plans to keep its artisan cheese operation and retail store in the current location on 857 Main Road in Corfu, while operating the new processing facility for its other product lines.

Yancey’s Fancy currently has 108 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees and expects to add 50 more over three years after the certificate of occupancy is obtained for the new facility.

Alpina Foods is seeking approval of a final resolution for sales tax exemption valued at $40,000 related to its proposed expansion plan. Alpina is planning a $2.5 million investment in new production equipment and $500,000 in interior construction (furniture, fixtures, and non-manufacturing equipment). Associated with this expansion plan, Alpina has committed to adding an additional 15 full-time equivalent employees to its workforce over the next three years after completion of the expansion project.  

A leading South American dairy products company, Alpina Foods constructed its first U.S. manufacturing facility in the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park in 2011. The facility employs 50 full-time workers on site and has met initial job creation commitments ahead of schedule.

The GCEDC Board meeting will take place at 4 p.m. and is open to the public. Meetings are held at the Dr. Bruce A. Holm Upstate Med & Tech Park -- 99 MedTech Drive, Batavia, second floor, across from Genesee Community College.

From Rachael J. Tabelski, marketing and communications director, GCEDC:

Please be advised that the two projects that came before the Genesee County Economic Development Center Board for incentives at the Sept. 5 board meeting passed. The details of the projects are below. Please note that the project summary for Yancey's Fancy has been updated with further details of the project. The board approved an initial resolution which directs the GCEDC to schedule a public hearing on the Yancey's Fancy project and related incentives. As soon as the public hearing for Yancey's is scheduled we will send you the details. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns.

Graham Corporation Expansion
Discussion: Proposed sales tax and property tax abatement.

Graham Corporation would like to renovate the "old" plant area, located at the corner of Harvester Avenue and Howard Street in the City of Batavia. A new bay will be constructed (12,439 square feet) that will enclose the area between two manufacturing bays located facing Harvester Avenue along with renovations of office and manufacturing areas. In addition, a new building (3,800 square feet) will be constructed on the 20 Florence Street campus. This new building will be used for X-ray inspections of welds done during the fabrication process. Graham currently has 311 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees and anticipates adding 30 more over three years after the certificate of occupancy is obtained for these renovations. At the Aug. 1 board meeting an initial resolution was approved to schedule a public hearing. A public hearing was held on Aug. 21 to solicit public comments on the project as the total incentive amount is more than $100,000. No members of the public attended the hearing.

Board Action Request: Approval of final resolution to approve the incentives for the project. The application for the expansion project includes an estimated sales tax exemption of $240,000 and estimated property tax abatement on the incremental increase in assessed value of $243,396.

Historical Look: The last expansion project that Graham undertook and the GCEDC assisted was in 2011. At the time Graham had 278 FTEs and pledged 30 new jobs in three years for a total of 308 FTEs. According to its 2013 application the company exceeded its employment goals and plans to keep growing.

Yancey’s Fancy Project -- *Updated Summary
Discussion: Proposed sales tax and mortgage tax exemptions and property tax abatement.

Yancey's Fancy has updated its project specifications since submission of its original application for incentives. The original application was received by the GCEDC in April. According to the original application, Yancey’s was planning an 112,000-square-foot expansion at its existing facility, 857 Main Road in Corfu. After moving forward with planning and permitting for the expansion, the company has decided to build a new facility within the Buffalo East Technology Park (BETP) located in Pembroke. Yancey’s Fancy would like to purchase approximately 12 acres within the BETP, and build a 112,000-square-foot facility. The capital investment is estimated to be $18.2 million.

The company plans to keep its artisan cheese operations and retail store in the current location (857 Main Road), and to undertake an expansion at this location as well. The second part of the project will include the addition of 3,500 square feet at the 857 Main Road location where they will install a new reverse-osmosis system. The instillation of a reverse-osmosis system will allow whey produced during the cheese-making process to be dried and sold. Currently, whey is transported by local farmers at a cost to Yancey’s. By utilizing reverse-osmosis technology, it is possible to concentrate the solid content enough to sell whey to processors and animal feed operations. Recent technological advances also allow the water removed from the whey to be pumped back into plant operations. These advances, as well as the expansion of the town and village sewer system, have made the reverse-osmosis project a viable opportunity in the overall growth strategy that Yancey’s Fancy in undertaking. The capital investment of this project is estimated to be $2.5 million.

The total capital investment for Yancey’s project is estimated at $20.7 million. The company currently has 108 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees and expects to add 50 more over three years after the certificate of occupancy is obtained for this new facility. Due to the changes in the project, a new public hearing will be held to solicit public comment on the incentives sought by the company, as they are more than $100,000 in savings.

Board Action Request: Approval of an initial resolution to set a public hearing for the Yancey’s Fancy project. The estimated sales tax exemption is valued at $638,608, and the estimated mortgage tax exemption is valued at $233,388. The new building and land located within the Buffalo East Technology Park will have an estimated property tax savings of $686,314, and the incremental increase in assessed value that will apply to the additional square footage at the 857 Main Road location will have an estimated property tax savings of $49,022. The total estimated property tax exemption is valued at $735,336.

The Corfu-based artisan cheese maker Yancey's Fancy is planning a $296,000 expansion and will receive $20,000 in tax abatement, the Genesee Economic Development Center announced today.

The tax exemptions were ratified by the GCEDC board on Tuesday on the promise from Yancey's Fancy of 100 jobs retained.

No new jobs are expected to be created by the expansion.

The 60 percent PILOT will save Yancy's Fancy $13,000 in property taxes over 10 years.

The company also gets a $6,900 sales tax exemption on construction materials.

Information on the nature of the expansion was not released by the GCEDC.

Yancey's Fancy is located at 856 Main Road.

Saturday, Sept. 17, was Kutter's annual Customer Appreciation Day.

Kutter's Cheese Factory Store began operations in 1923, when Leo Kutter emigrated to the United States from Germany. The factory moved to Corfu, site of this weekend's festivities, in 1947.  

Visitors were offered samples of Yancey's Fancy's 19 varieties of cheeses, available in 29 flavors.

Brian and Heather Bailey and Christine Adamczak, who bought Kutter's from Tony and Richard Kutter in 2009, were on hand to offer visitors wine and cheese samples. Musical entertainment was provided by Finesse (a female barbershop quartet), and there was a factory tour to explain the cheese-making process.

The company is looking to expand its operations in the next two years, and if the attendance at the festivities on Saturday were any indication, Genesee County is more than ready for the expansion.

Heather and Brian Bailey with the Kutter's classic car.

"Hot Stuff" -- Yancey's Fancy's own buffalo.

Finesse, a women's barbershop quartet, featuring (from left to right): tenor Sharie Vlack (Elba), lead Peggy Watkins (Attica), baritone Beth Allen (Elba), and bass Carolyn Schultz (Oakfield).

The group is a subset of the Crossroads of Harmony Chorus, which will be holding a reunion on Oct. 17 at the Genesee County Nursing Home. For more information, contact Finesse at allenkittyzoo@gmail.com.

More pictures from the event can be found here.