Daisy Brand broke ground last week on a sour cream facility in Wayne County, Ohio. The 200,000 square-foot state-of-the-art facility to be built in the city of Wooster is expected to be fully operational by late 2015. The $116 million project is expected to add 89 jobs.

Daisy Brand, the nation’s largest sour cream manufacturer, also makes cottage cheese. The new facility will be the company’s first plant east of the Mississippi River and will provide the dairy processor with better access to markets in the East. Existing plants are in Case Grande, Ariz., and Garland, Texas. The privately held Daisy Brand ranks 51st on the Dairy 100, Dairy Foods list of the largest dairy processors in North America. The magazine estimated the processor's 2012 revenues as $410 million.

A strategic location, the ability to move product quickly, ready access to a quality supply of cream, and abundant clean water were factors in locating the plant in Wooster, said Daisy Brand President Vince Taylor. “The cooler will be the first part of the plant brought on line for distribution of sour cream and cottage cheese from our existing facilities, followed shortly after by sour cream production.”

John Minor, president and chief investment officer for JobsOhio, recognized the collaborative efforts of state, regional, and local partners to attract

The celebration included Ohio Governor John R. Kasich; Rod Crider, Wayne Economic Development Council President; and Wooster Mayor Bob Breneman.