Goodyear lands $200M milk plant expected to open in late 2020

PHOENIX – A milk company that is partnered with Coca-Cola plans to have a $200 million facility in the Phoenix area up and running by late next year, it was announced Tuesday.

Fairlife, which makes lactose-free beverages, said the production site in Goodyear would cover 300,000 square feet around Cotton Lane and Thomas Road. The plant will create more than 140 jobs.

The United Dairymen of Arizona have been helping with local sources for the milk.

“I’m extremely proud that the demand for our milk has grown so much that we now need another manufacturing site!” Tim Doelman, company chief operating officer, said in a statement released Tuesday.

“In choosing a new plant location, it is essential that the new facility be built in an area where dairy farms are willing and able to follow Fairlife’s responsible animal care and sustainable farming practices while producing the highest quality milk,” the statement read.

Milk distributor @fairlife plans a $200+ million, 300,000 SF advanced manufacturing and production facility in #GoodyearAZ, creating 140 new jobs and expects to be fully operational by the second half of 2020. Read More: https://t.co/STvQQgI8D7 pic.twitter.com/WJH2cfu8A9

— Goodyear, AZ Economic Development (@GoodyearAZecdev) April 9, 2019

The company has made its name by using a filtration process it said makes milk more nutritious and emphasizes healthy animal care and sustainability.

“Fairlife is a pioneer in the dairy industry and having their new plant here will not only encourage innovation in Arizona, it will contribute to our efforts to grow our advanced manufacturing sector in our community,” Goodyear Mayor Georgia Lord said in the statement.

The new plant will ease the production burden on the facility in Michigan.

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