RICHMOND — Pepperidge Farm will soon double the amount of Goldfish crackers being produced at its Cache Valley plant. They plan on doubling production by building an extension to the plant.

More Goldfish won’t be the only benefit from the expansion, said plant manager Vic Mahoney. It will benefit all of Cache Valley by adding 54 new full-time jobs to their current 386 full-time positions.

Mahoney said the Goldfish cracker accounts for around 60 percent of the food produced by the plant each year. It currently produces around 30 million pounds of Goldfish crackers per year, and the new expansion will double its ability to produce.

“I think it means quite a bit to Cache Valley,” Mahoney said. “We’ve been here for 38 years as a plant in the Cache Valley area. The company is making a strong commitment to this plant and to Cache Valley as a whole.”

Mahoney said the expansion is a large investment for Pepperidge Farm. It will cost the company $44 million in building and equipment costs.

The expansion was recently approved by the Cache County Council with a conditional use permit.

“The conditional use permit, as I understand it, is what gives us the ability to go ahead and request the building permits to actually break ground, which is what we plan to do sometime in April,” Mahoney said.

Richmond Mayor Mike Hall said the expansion is a positive thing for Richmond. “It’s a good opportunity for new jobs, and good paying jobs, that are coming to the valley.”

Hall said the expansions will have some impact on the city’s waste-water system because the plant is attached to Richmond’s sewer system. He said the plant will pay for the portion of the system they impact.

“Other than that it won’t have a big influence upon us in a negative way at all,” Hall said. “We’re excited to have them expand and grow and glad they’re choosing to stay here in this area for their increase in production.”

Published in cooperation with the Hard News Cafe. Original story is here.