Cheese Plant Near Hancock To Reopen

HANCOCK, Md. (AP) -- A western Maryland cheese plant that closed last summer is set to reopen.

The Herald-Mail reports that Hagerstown-based Lanco Dairy Farms has taken over the plant outside Hancock and will reopen it. The plant closed in June 2014.

Finance Director Wayne Brills says there is a plant manager on the site, but he didn't say how many employees would be hired. He also didn't say when the plant would reopen or give specifics about operations.

The plant was previously operated by Saputo Inc., a Canadian manufacturer that announced last year that it would close the plant and three others. The closure affected about 60 workers locally.

Saputo, which acquired the plant in 1988, sold the 55-acre property for $125,000 in January. It sold again in May for $600,000.