HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- International agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland Co. has opened a new cocoa processing facility in Hazleton with help from Pennsylvania state taxpayer dollars.
Gov. Ed Rendell this week participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the plant at Humboldt Industrial Park. He said ADM might have built it in another state without an aggressive financial incentive package from Pennsylvania.
The facility will handle ADM's East Coast cocoa operations, including bean grinding, chocolate production, and cake milling. State officials say ADM expects to hire 210 employees within three years at the site.
The Rendell administration gave a $4.6 million funding package to ADM, almost all of it in grants and reimbursements.