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New space and workers for Herr's

With a financial assist from Pa., the snack company will expand in Chester County.

Fifteen million dollars is not exactly small potatoes, but it might be used to make potatoes small. Or to make cheese curl.

Herr Foods Inc. will spend the dough to add 70,000 square feet of manufacturing space to its Nottingham facility in Chester County, hiring 64 new workers in the process. The potato chip and pretzel company will use the space to make cheese curls and other new snack products.

Herr's, which already makes 350 snack products, will get a hand from the government to help pay for the project, Gov. Rendell said yesterday.

Chester County's Economic Development Council worked with the Governor's Action Team to secure a package of more than $5.2 million for Herr's through the state's Department of Community and Economic Development.

The package includes an opportunity to borrow $5 million through the state's First Industries Fund, which boosts investments in agriculture and tourism, as well as a $128,000 state tax break for creating jobs.

Also in the package is a $28,800 grant for customized job training. With that grant, workers will learn how to operate and maintain machines, which squeeze out substances that become cheese curls or other snack foods.

Herr's, a 61-year-old family-owned company with 1,500 employees, said three-fourths of its products are manufactured in Nottingham. The rest are produced in Ohio. Most of Herr's employees handle distribution. About 470 manufacturing and administrative employees work at Herr's corporate facility in Nottingham.