Shenandoah Valley Big Deal: Dairy producer again expands in Frederick County

Dairy company HP Hood has nearly completed the $83.5 million expansion and upgrade of its Frederick County plant, which will allow it to increase production and meet future customer demand.

A new machine to fill and seal milk containers was installed and went into production in December 2024, and a new warehouse and processing room will be in service during the first quarter of 2025. The plant will encompass 442,000 square feet when the expansion is complete, says Lynne Bohan, Hood’s group vice president of communications and government affairs.

“Our growth and investment in Frederick County will enable Hood to continue to provide a market for local dairy farms through our milk cooperative partnerships,” she says. “As we continue to invest in our Winchester facility, it will enable Hood to create new jobs and new products in the future.”

The plant, located just south of Winchester, processes 150 million gallons a year of extended-shelf-life fluid milk and nondairy products. They’re used for Hood’s own brands, private label partners, licensed brands and co-packing partners. These include Lactaid, Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Almond Milk and Planet Oat.

A nationally branded dairy processor headquartered in Lynnfield, Massachusetts, HP Hood has 12 manufacturing plants across the United States and annual sales revenues of approximately $3.5 billion. Customers include chain and independent retailers, convenience stores, and food service channels across the country, according to a news release from the governor’s office.

The company built its Frederick County plant in 2000 on 878 acres at 160 Hood Way. The site provides access to both U.S. Route 11 and Interstate 81, as well as a milk cooperative network that includes the Dairy Farmers of America and the Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative Association. It supplies finished products to customers in New England as well as the Southeast, Mideast and Midwest, says Bohan.

“When we chose this location way back before 2000, we thought it served us, from a distribution standpoint and an ingredient standpoint, an employment standpoint, and we were supported by the local department of economic development. They’ve been terrific partners with us all along,” she says.

Attracting the plant was an important deal, not only for Frederick County, but also the Shenandoah Valley region, says Patrick Barker, executive director of the Frederick County Economic Development Authority. Hood is now one of the county’s major manufacturers and employs more than 600 people.

The dairy processor previously expanded operations at the facility in 2013, investing $84.6 million to increase ultra-high temperature production capacity.

“They’ve done multiple expansions since they located there, and we appreciate every one of them,” Barker says. “This one, which is close to $84 million, is a further confirmation of the county being a place where business wants to locate and business happens.”

The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services worked with Frederick County and the county’s EDA to secure this most recent upgrade and expansion project for Virginia. Youngkin approved a $50,000 Infrastructure Grant from the Governor’s Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development Fund, which Frederick County is matching with local funds.

According to Lindsay Reames, executive vice president of sustainability and external relations at the Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative Association and the 2024 chair of the Virginia Agribusiness Council, the expansion and upgrade “will definitely allow us to continue to supply them and shows a strong signal to us that they are investing in their business and we’re going to have a home for our milk in the future.”

HP Hood’s continued investment in its Winchester facility will enable it to create jobs and add additional capacity in response to growing customer demand, according to the company, although no new positions have been added yet. Nevertheless, Hood is always hiring and has worked with area colleges and held job fairs to recruit people from the Shenandoah Valley. Sourcing employees from the region is important to the company, Bohan says.

The Frederick County plant and its employees also give to their communities by supporting the Winchester Rescue Mission, SPCA, local Lions Club and Toys for Tots, in addition to donating turkeys to The Laurel Center, an organization assisting those affected by domestic and sexual violence.

“We like to consider ourselves a good neighbor and community supporter,” says Bohan.