COLUMBUS – Jeni’s and Graeter’s seem to grab the headlines but, for more than a century, Velvet Ice Cream has quietly been churning out its product in its quaint Utica plant until, now, it is ready to take a giant leap forward.
Following expansion into Kentucky and other markets, company officials say the ice cream maker is on pace to outgrow its current capacity at Utica’s Ye Olde Mill (above) within the next year so 101-year-old Velvet is undertaking the largest capital improvement in its history.
The company will break ground this month on a $3 million expansion that will add 21,000 square feet to its distribution facility at Ye Olde Mill in Utica. The move will add a new, state-of-the-art warehouse freezer that will more than doubling the company’s freezing capacity.
“We are nearly at capacity with our existing distribution facility. This new development allows us to improve sustainability, sharpen efficiencies and produce more delicious Velvet Ice Cream in order to meet increased demand,” company president Luconda Dager said.
Among the Dager is proud of the company’s use of green technology, including an environmentally friendly design, motion controlled energy efficient lighting, state-of-the-art insulation panels, and high-speed automated doors.
The project, which is expected to be operational by April 2016, will add eight workers to the existing staff of 125 with the potential to expand production and hire additional employees, Dager sid.