The future location of Socafe in Dunmore Borough
Nationally-known coffee manufacturer and distributor Socafe will relocate and expand its operations to Dunmore Borough, creating 130 new jobs in Lackawanna County, thanks to efforts by The Scranton Plan, the economic development marketing affiliate of The Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce.
Founded in 1987 and currently based in Newark, New Jersey, Socafe is a pioneer in the world of gourmet coffee roasting and distribution on the East Coast. The company provides the coffee roasting industry with quality coffee and machinery, as well as the branding, packaging and distribution of single serve pods to thousands of retail stores across the nation and dozens of online outlets. Socafe manufactures single serve coffee for its own brands, as well as existing customer brands, while offering private label brands for other roasters and retail chains.
“We are more than ready to create a new home for our continually growing business in the Greater Scranton region,” said Joseph Fernandes III, vice president of Socafe. “The assistance we received from The Scranton Plan allowed us to discover the pro-business philosophy that is abundant both in Pennsylvania and in Lackawanna County. The Scranton Plan’s research also helped us discover a vibrant available workforce. Thanks to their assistance, we are confident this is going to be a positive move not only for our business, but also for the residents of Lackawanna County and the surrounding area.”
Socafe will purchase an existing 116,000 sq. ft. building in Dunmore Borough, formerly known as Grove Textiles, to relocate its headquarters and manufacturing operations from Newark. This facility offers Socafe an additional 85,000 sq. ft. of space versus their Newark location and enables the company to streamline its operations. The company is investing approximately $2,471,000 into the project, which will create 130 jobs over three years.
“This is an important economic development project for several reasons,” said Bob Durkin, Chamber president. “Socafe will create 130 quality jobs in our area, it will adaptively reuse an iconic historic property, and it will demonstrate to other prospects that our region is a great place to establish and grow a cutting-edge business.”
According to Dunmore Borough officials, Socafe’s arrival in the municipality will positively affect the town’s growing business base.
“The entire Dunmore Borough Council is ecstatic that a manufacturing business of Socafe’s caliber will move into our town,” said Tom Hallinan, Dunmore Borough councilman. “Socafe’s arrival will help our municipality improve its tax base, as well as make our town more attractive to businesses wishing to locate here. As an added bonus, it will also help improve one of our borough’s neighborhoods. This is nothing but a positive thing for us.”
Socafe received a funding proposal from the Department of Community and Economic Development that includes a $130,000 Pennsylvania First grant, an $18,000 WEDnet grant for employee training, and $130,000 in Job Creation Tax Credits to be issued after the new jobs are created.
