An innovative $85-million juice processing facility is planned for downtown Erie, Pa.
   "Erie puts us in easy proximity of the Northeast markets we are trying to serve," says Jeff Spaulding, vice president of business development and government affairs for IFP North America. IFP stands for Innovative Fruit Processing. "We have a great highway and rail system here and, if we need to import, the port on Lake Erie."
   Water and sewer availability was another factor in IFP's site search, a critical factor as the plant will use 400,000 gallons of water a day with an outflow of 200,000 gallons.
   IFP plans a facility of at least 400,000 sq. ft. (37,000 sq. m.) on a 45-acre (18-hectare) site. The plant will process 10 million bushels, or 40 million pounds of apples annually, to make apple juice, just one of an array of juices it will produce. Others include cranberry, grape, blueberry, strawberry and various blends. Juices will be marketed to the store brand market and also sold to schools and other institutional users.
   Construction is slated to begin during the second quarter of 2006 on the project. Spaulding says the facility, which will include IFP's headquarters, will employ 300 to 400.
   IFP will produce not-from-concentrate (NFC) fruit juices as well as traditional from-concentrate juices. The company will use an aseptic processing environment, allowing cold fill processing. This will allow juice to be heated to temperatures exceeding 180 degrees for a period of less than 15 seconds, compared to 25 minutes or more for hot fill, the more common method used to produce juice in the U.S.