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One S. Church Street, Suite 200, Hazleton, PA 18201      
570.455.1508   570.454.7787    

 

Targeted Industries

In economic development, when you see a group of similar companies moving to a geographically small area, you pay attention. These industry clusters - companies that are linked by common goods, services, or clients - are an excellent indicator of how a particular business sector feels about an area. It's like word-of-mouth advertising.

While each cluster has its own industry-specific need, those operating in Greater Hazleton have also been impressed by our location along the Interstates 81-80 corridor, our dedicated workforce, low operating costs and our in-place infrastructure.

For example, nationally known companies like refrigerated warehouse company United States Cold Storage and cocoa manufacturer Cargill Cocoa and Chocolate are located in the Humboldt Industrial Park, joining a growing number of food service giants in CAN DO parks such as Aspire Bakeries, Bimbo Bakeries and The Hershey Company.

Click the tabs below to find out more about the Food Processing, Plastics, and E-commerce/Distribution sectors in Greater Hazleton.

Food ProcessingPlasticsE-commerce and Distribution

 


Known as the "Snack Food Capital of the World," Pennsylvania includes major producers of pretzels, potato chips, confectioneries and chocolate. The Commonwealth’s snack food and confectionery industries generate more than $5.1 billion in annual sales. Pennsylvania is also the international headquarters for Hershey Foods Corporation and H. J. Heinz.

Greater Hazleton and Northeastern Pennsylvania are a prime example of how Pennsylvania has gotten this reputation as companies such as Cargill Cocoa and Chocolate, Hershey Company, Bimbo Bakeries, Cargill Meat Solutions and Aspire Bakeries, among many others, all have processing facilities in the area.

Greater Hazleton has all of the special ingredients needed to make it an ideal location for the food processing industry... climate, air quality, fresh water, abudant workforce, rail service and highway access for ease of distribution.

Greater Hazleton Food Processing & Food Distribution Companies

 

 

Cost of Doing Business

Lower Operating Costs

In a 2017 independent, verified study, researched and prepared by The Boyd Company, Inc., major operating costs scaled to a representative food processing plant are presented for a series of eleven comparative production sites in the United States.  

Findings are summarized and show total annual operating costs ranging from a high of $31.6 million in Long Island, NY, to a low of $25 million in the Hazleton/Wilkes Barre/Scranton, PA, area.

Statistics for a Prototype Food Processing Facility in Greater Hazleton

In the report, which is linked below, overall costs were scaled to a hypothetical 225,000 sq. ft. production facility employing 350 workers. The report is designed to be a useful cost-comparison tool for a range of industry sectors.

Note: Utilities - Annual costs reflect industrial rate schedules of the respective local electric utilities serving each area. Natural gas costs are based on an assumed monthly consumption of industrial-use gas.

Source: The Boyd Company, May 2017

A copy of the complete Comparative Cost Analysis Report can be downloaded here.

  • Total Labor Costs
  • Electric Power Costs
  • Natural Gas Power Costs
  • Amortization Costs
  • Property and Sales Tax Costs
  • Total Operating Costs
Food Processing (Manufacturing) Industry Prototype Facility
Annual Operating Costs
Metro Area Total Labor Costs
Hazleton/Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA $20,958,413
Philadelphia, PA $24,315,070
Lancaster County, PA $22,006,794
Allentown/Bethlehem, PA $22,218,309
Poughkeepsie/Hudson Valley, NY $24,517,389
Long Island, NY  $25,363,451 
Newark/North Jersey, NJ $12,757,923
Camden/South Jersey, NJ $23,680,524
Boston, MA $23,892,039
 Baltimore, MD $22,843,659 
Chicago, IL $23,266,690
Food Processing (Manufacturing) Industry Prototype Facility
Annual Operating Costs
Metro Area Electric Power Costs
Hazleton/Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA $495,444
Philadelphia, PA $422,412
Lancaster County, PA $495,444
Allentown/Bethlehem, PA $495,444
Poughkeepsie/Hudson Valley, NY $519,252
Long Island, NY  $796,754 
Newark/North Jersey, NJ $702,120
Camden/South Jersey, NJ $702,120
Boston, MA $998,868
 Baltimore, MD $819,754 
Chicago, IL $627,156
Food Processing (Manufacturing) Industry Prototype Facility
Annual Operating Costs
Metro Area Natural Gas Power Costs
Hazleton/Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA $120,600
Philadelphia, PA $220,500
Lancaster County, PA $190,800
Allentown/Bethlehem, PA $190,800
Poughkeepsie/Hudson Valley, NY $316,800
Long Island, NY  $268,200 
Newark/North Jersey, NJ $157,800
Camden/South Jersey, NJ $250,200
Boston, MA $358,800
 Baltimore, MD $250,220 
Chicago, IL $235,800
Food Processing (Manufacturing) Industry Prototype Facility
Annual Operating Costs
Metro Area Amortization Costs
Hazleton/Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA $2,285,403
Philadelphia, PA $2,744,732
Lancaster County, PA $2,391,255
Allentown/Bethlehem, PA $2,464,492
Poughkeepsie/Hudson Valley, NY $2,462,246
Long Island, NY  $3,067,004 
Newark/North Jersey, NJ $2,695,341
Camden/South Jersey, NJ $2,620,212
Boston, MA $2,800,800
 Baltimore, MD $2,276,244 
Chicago, IL $2,602,004
Food Processing (Manufacturing) Industry Prototype Facility
Annual Operating Costs
Metro Area Property and Sales Tax Cost
Hazleton/Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA $1,140,227
Philadelphia, PA $1,546,608
Lancaster County, PA $1,251,076
Allentown/Bethlehem, PA $1,298,915
Poughkeepsie/Hudson Valley, NY $1,605,453
Long Island, NY  $2,143,127 
Newark/North Jersey, NJ $1,723,737
Camden/South Jersey, NJ $1,507,272
Boston, MA $1,459,030
 Baltimore, MD $1,049,696 
Chicago, IL $1,743,880
Food Processing (Manufacturing) Industry Prototype Facility
Annual Operating Costs
Metro Area Total Operating Cost
Hazleton/Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA $25,000,087
Philadelphia, PA $29,149,322
Lancaster County, PA $26,335,369
Allentown/Bethlehem, PA $26,667,960
Poughkeepsie/Hudson Valley, NY $29,421,140
Long Island, NY  $31,638,536 
Newark/North Jersey, NJ $18,036,921
Camden/South Jersey, NJ $28,760,328
Boston, MA $29,509,537
 Baltimore, MD $27,239,553 
Chicago, IL $28,475,530

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