Fairlife wins state grants to support $650M expansion, 150 new jobs
Posted By: mlive on March 24, 2026. For more information, please click here to read the source article.
The city of Coopersville and Fairlife are receiving state assistance to upgrade the regional water system and expand Fairlife’s local production facility. The Michigan Strategic Fund Board on Tuesday, March 24, unanimously approved a 15-year Alternative State Essential Services Assessment Abatement valued at approximately $3.93 million for Fairlife’s planned $650 million expansion in Coopersville, plus a $17 million Strategic Site Readiness Program grant for critical water infrastructure improvements.
Fairlife is planning a $650 million expansion of its existing Coopersville facility with 245,000 square feet of additional new production lines using ultrafiltration technology. The investment is expected to add 150 new jobs and retain 400 existing jobs. New, entry-level jobs will start at $22 per hour. Roles requiring more experience, such as operator or technical roles, will provide starting wages of up to $27 per hour and $36 per hour, respectively.
“This grant really enables a project for this region that removes a key barrier to growth, not only to us but to the region,” Phil Lamothe, senior vice president of manufacturing and engineering at Fairlife, said. “Having redundancy and resiliency for city water is important across our industry and it enables a significant planned expansion here at Fairlife.”
The outdated water system supporting Coopersville, Polkton Charter Township and Allendale Charter Township relies on a limited set of transmission mains constructed in the 1930s, according to a Michigan Economic Development Corporation memo. Even with recent upgrades in 2020, demand has already surpassed 20-year projections due to industrial expansion and population growth, the memo stated. The new infrastructure project will come in two phases. Phase 1 of the project will add essential water capacity and redundancy to the water system by constructing a new 20-inch main from the existing connection in Polkton Township to the city of Coopersville. Phase 2 of the project will add a new 1 million-gallon water tank.
“This will greatly improve the redundancy and capacity to our water system and it will help future growth within the city and neighboring townships,” Coopersville City Manager Dennis Luce said. “It will also help one of our biggest industries within the city, Fairlife, to nearly double their production.”
Nearby Muskegon County, meanwhile, has stepped in to support Fairlife’s operations. In June 2023, the county’s public works board approved a 40% discount in charges for hauled wastewater for the company. The reduced rate was meant to encourage Fairlife to truck more waste to Muskegon’s facility rather than send it to the overburdened one in Coopersville, according to county information.
The Fairlife expansion supports Michigan’s $125.8 billion food and agriculture economy and is projected to create up to 6,500 jobs across direct and indirect sectors, according to the MEDC memo. Founded in 2012 as a joint venture between select milk producers and The Coca-Cola Company, Fairlife produces ultra-filtered milk and nutrition beverages. In 2020, The Coca-Cola Company acquired full ownership of the business.
The MSF Board on Tuesday also approved a $33 million package of grants to support the expansion of La Colombe Coffee Roasters and essential water upgrades in Muskegon County. La Colombe will receive a $5 million Michigan Business Development Program grant for the $567 million expansion of its existing facility at 6366 Norton Center Drive in Norton Shores. Muskegon County will receive a $28 million Strategic Site Readiness Program grant to offset the cost of water infrastructure replacement that will support the La Colombe project, plus future growth in the county.
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