When all is said and done, the site will feature a new 200,000-sf, state-of-the-art ice cream warehouse, as well as additional space to accommodate the increase in production of its current six lines of products to 18 lines. There will also be enough land to contain further expansion in the future. Upon its completion, the Laurel Operations Center will be the largest ice cream manufacturing facility in the world, beating out Dreyer's Bakersfield, CA facility, which is also currently under development and will total just under 700,000 sf.

The project is a welcomed one for the Howard County. as well as the State of Maryland; the presence of Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., the county executive Jim Robey, and other power players at the groundbreaking made that clear. "Dreyer's decision to expand here validates Howard County as a great location not only for the technology industry that we're known for, but for manufacturing, as well," Richard Story, Howard County Economic Development Authority CEO, tells GlobeSt.com. "In addition to the new jobs, they'll be using local dairy products, which will be a boost to our farm industry and, although there has been no commitment yet, the facility could be a tourism asset if Dreyer's decides to offer tours of the plant."

The state is providing the company with an incentives package to expand locally. Details of the incentives have not yet been disclosed, but the arrangement includes grants, loans, tax credits and job creation credits. The expanded plant is expected to be up and running in 2007.