Greater Hazleton’s growing food service cluster is featured in the current issue of a national magazine.

The area appears in a story entitled “Food Preparation’s Innovations” in the December 2009 edition of Global Corporate Xpansion magazine, a quarterly magazine for executives and site selectors planning to relocate a facility or expand operations.

“A large food processing region located on the Eastern Seaboard of the country, home to manufacturing operations such as The Hershey Company, Archer Daniels Midland Co. and Bimbo Bakeries, is Hazleton, Pa.,” the article states. “[Greater Hazleton] has taken advantage of a food processing initiative created by CAN DO, Inc., a nonprofit economic development corporation in Greater Hazleton that was created to assist companies in all aspects of their operations […] Here, distribution, logistics and low operating costs are just some of the advantages that help companies in Greater Hazleton compete with other markets, says Joseph Lettiere, vice president of sales and marketing, CAN DO. […] The pace of expansion is picking up in Hazleton.”

CAN DO has been targeting the food service industry as an area of future growth, Lettiere explained.

“Companies in the food services and food-processing industry find that the Hazleton area is the perfect location for many reasons, including our strategic location, competitive operating environment, highly rated workforce and the availability of training programs,” Lettiere said.

The cluster in CAN DO’s industrial parks consists of companies such as Fresh Start Bakeries, Tootsie Roll, The Hershey Company, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Cargill Meat Solutions, Bimbo Bakeries, Gonnella Frozen Products, U.S. Cold Storage and Romark Logistics, in addition to other food packaging and food transportation businesses.

Several food-processing partnerships are also in place throughout Greater Hazleton to assist companies with a variety of needs, including workforce development and training programs.

To learn more about how to locate in Greater Hazleton and take advantage of the many benefits for food service industries in Humboldt Industrial Park, contact Lettiere at (570) 455-1508 or visit www.hazletoncando.com.