[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 162 (Monday, December 17, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Page S8067]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       RECOGNIZING CHOBANI YOGURT

  Mr. RISCH. Madam President, my colleague, Senator Mike Crapo, joins 
me in recognizing the opening this month of the Chobani Yogurt 
production facility in Twin Falls, ID.
  This facility, Chobani's first in Idaho, will be capable of producing 
4.2 million cases of yogurt per week at full capacity. All of the milk 
used to produce the yogurt will come from Idaho dairy farms and at the 
peak of production will use millions of pounds of milk a day.
  The 950,000-square-foot production facility was constructed by more 
than 1,000 workers and will employ between 400 and 500 people next 
year. More than 300 new jobs have already been created in Twin Falls. 
It was built at a cost of $450 million and is now the largest yogurt 
plant in the world.
  From its founding in 2005, the Chobani company started with 5 
employees and now has more than 1,800 employees worldwide, with more 
than 1,600 in the United States. Their founder and CEO, Hamdi Ulukaya, 
is an American success story, having immigrated to the United States 
from Turkey in 1994.
  Like many businesses in Idaho, Chobani will be involved in local 
charitable work. Chobani's biggest impact, however, will be in 
providing well-paying jobs and economic growth through manufacturing a 
delicious and healthy product available throughout the country.
  Chobani recognized the many benefits to locating in Idaho--among them 
the quality milk produced by our Idaho dairy families, a commonsense 
regulatory environment and hard-working Idahoans who will make the 
facility a great success.
  Senator Crapo and I also recognize the many entities that worked with 
Chobani to make their opening a reality. Elected officials from Twin 
Falls County and the City of Twin Falls worked tirelessly on the 
project, as did the Southern Idaho Economic Development Organization. 
The Twin Falls Chamber of Commerce and the Twin Falls Urban Renewal 
District also played a major role in the effort. The State of Idaho and 
its Department of Commerce helped in the process, and the end result is 
not only the direct jobs at Chobani, but also a multiplier effect of 
more than 3,000 additional jobs in the State.
  Today, we congratulate Chobani on the opening of their new plant and 
salute all of the partners and community leaders on a job well done. We 
welcome Chobani to the great State of Idaho.

                          ____________________