Several local and state officials joined company representatives in September 2016 for the ribbon cutting at the Castelli Cheese plant in Blockville. It announced it had closed its operation three years later on Friday, Dec. 6, 2019.

ASHVILLE – An international cheese company that first opened a local operation in Chautauqua County three years ago is now closing its doors.

On Monday afternoon Chautauqua County officials announced they had received news that Castelli America closed its Ashville facility on Friday, Dec. 6. The closure affects approximately 50 employees.

The Nuovo Castelli Group, which is based in Italy, is a producer and distributor of a variety of Italian cheeses. It initially purchased the former Empire Specialty Cheese manufacturing plant, located at 5151 Fairbanks Rd. in Ashville in September 2016.

Acting Chautauqua County executive Steve Abdella said that despite the county, the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency, the State and Federal governments all providing assistance to the company in the form of low-interest loans, grants, and technical assistance, officials were informed that Castelli America has been experiencing challenges related to production and sales.

According to recent news releases, officials with Castelli will plan to sell their entire operation to Lactalis, the largest multi-national dairy products cooperation in the world. Lactalis is headquartered in France and has several locations in the U.S.

The facility has benefited from more than $8 million in upgrades to its equipment, building structure, and waste treatment facilities. Just last year Castelli was able to secure two federally-funded Community Development Block Grants to expand the facility and create additional jobs.

Deputy County Executive for Economic Development Mark Geise said the IDA is hopeful that the facility will be attractive to potential new operators.

“This is a state-of-the-art facility with a ready source of milk producers, and the CCIDA is hopeful that the facility will be attractive to potential new operators,” Geise said.

“We don’t know what the sale of Castelli America to Lactalis will mean yet for the Ashville facility,” said Abdella. “Chautauqua County and the CCIDA are doing everything in their power to assist the company and its employees. We have contacted the Chautauqua County Workforce Development Board to help connect displaced workers with current job openings and available re-training programs. We are also in discussions with the State to help the displaced workers, and to find a purchaser for the facility if Lactalis decides to not keep it open.”

Several local and state officials joined company representatives on Tuesday, Sept. 20 for the ribbon cutting at the Castelli Cheese plant in Blockville, NY.

ASHVILLE – A new company has taken over the cheese manufacturing plant in Ashville.

As part of an economic development deal with the state and county, Castelli America is now operating the former Empire Specialty Cheese plant on Fairbanks Rd.

Castelli America is the first plant in the United States owned and operated by the Nuova Castelli Group, based in Italy. Officials from the company were in Ashville Tuesday morning to officially announce their taking over the facility, which had run into financial problems while being managed by Empire Specialty Cheese.

Castelli President Paul Bensabat explained that the company has actually been in operation since 1892 and has made a name for itself in Italy as a producer and distributor of various Italian cheeses.

“Castelli is a very old company. It is a 125-year-old company that dates back to 1892. Very few companies have the privilege of being around for 125 years,” Bensabat said. “It is the second largest cheese manufacturer in Italy and is the first manufacturer of what we call protected denomination of origin cheeses – basically the Parmigiano-Reggiano and the Grana Padano – these specialty cheeses that require a lot of care, attention, and very specific rules to be able to produce it.”

Bensabat said the Chautauqua County facility is not only the company’s first plant in the U.S., but he’s hoping it will help to serve as the north American headquarters as the company continues to expand into the U.S. market.

The Castelli announcement was due in large part to Empire State Development, which gave the company a $500,000 grant and a $5.5 million loan to upgrade the local facility. The company will also continue payments on $600,000 in business loans that Empire Specialty Cheese had received from the state, via the county IDA.

The plant currently employs about 80 workers and works with more than 90 different regional dairy farms, mostly from the Amish community.

The Post-Journal is reporting that Empire Specialty Cheese Co. (5151 Fairbanks Road, Ashville) has run out of money after investing millions of dollars into their facility, which is located in Blockville and had previously been the location of the AFA Foods operation.

The New Jersey-based Empire Specialty Cheese bought the plant in 2013 and only moved in and began operation at the plant at the end of 2015. It was previously located in Cattaraugus County.  As part of the move, the company received a $600,000 grant from the New York State Office of Community Renewal, a $300,000 loan fund and a $300,000 deferred loan from the IDA. At the time of the loan company officials had said the plant would eventually have 200 employees. Currently there’s an estimated 90 workers at the plant.

According to the Post-Journal, Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency CEO Kevin Sanvidge said the company would likely have to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy, unless a deal can be made to change ownership.

On Monday morning the IDA announced that there will be a grand opening – under new management – of the cheese plant. The new management company has not yet been announced.

On Wednesday morning, Edwards, along with several members of his economic development staff, announced that a deal has been finalized that will bring the Empire Specialty Cheese Co. into the former AFA Foods facility in the town of North Harmony.

Edwards says that he is obviously pleased that the county was able to find a new occupant for the facility, less than two years after AFA Foods closed its doors.

The outgoing County Executive also said he was very appreciative of what Empire Specialty Cheese co-owner Tony Carparco had to say about expanding operations into Chautauqua County. “During today’s announcement, he said this is percisely where anyone who is looking to locate their business ought to call because of the quality of the people who worked on this deal, the capacity of Chautauqua county to close a deal, the quality of people that are here to work and the quality of life that is available in Chautauqua County.'”

EDWARDS CALLS OUT RON JOHNSON FOR CRITICISM OF AFA FOOD LOCATION

The current county executive also said that announcement shows that his economic development team is doing its job, despite recent criticism from Democratic county executive candidate Ron Johnson.

“This is a company that governor Chris Christie’s team was courting dramatically, trying to get them to relocate to New Jersey,” Edwards said. “We won that race again, just like we won it against China, just like we won it against Sweden and just like we won it against southern states, and that’s because of who were are, what we offer, and the quality of our economic development teams. So for Ron Johnson – who said it couldn’t be done and who was proclaiming he should be hired because it wasn’t being done – well, he’s wrong again. He’s wrong on the facts, wrong on the realities and wrong for Chautauqua County.”

Edwards was referencing a recent photo featuring the Ron Johnson campaign, showing him out in front of the AFA Foods location and citing the loss of jobs in Chautauqua County during the past seven years.

Last week, the Chautauqua County Legislature voted unanimously to have the county apply for a $616,000 grant on Empire Specialty Cheese’s behalf from the New York State Office of Community Renewal. The money would go toward financing a portion of the cost of equipment and working capital required to establish operations at the former AFA site.

Empire Specialty Cheese currently operates in Conewango Valley, where it has been in operation since 2000.  The company currently employs 45 people, but plans to grow to more than 200 employees within five years at the new facility in North Harmony.

The Chautauqua County Legislature learned on Wednesday that the Empire Specialty Cheese Co. wants to open a production operation in the town of Harmony at the former AFA Foods facility.

According to an article from the Jamestown Post-Journal, Lawmakers heard from the owner of the company, Tony Carparco, who said the business would like the county to help it move into the vacant facility.

Following the presentation by Carparco, lawmakers voted unanimously to approve a resolution, allowing the county apply for a $616,000 grant on Empire Specialty Cheese’s behalf from the New York State Office of Community Renewal. The money would go toward financing a portion of the cost of equipment and working capital required to establish operations.

Empire Specialty Cheese currently operates in Conewango Valley, where it has been in operation since 2000.  The company currently employs 45 people, but according to the Post-Journal article, plans to grow to more than 200 employees within five years at the new facility.