Il Pastaio begins construction on first U.S. plant in Union County
Il Pastaio's first U.S. plant brings more than $12.5 million to Gregg Township and is expected to add at least 74 jobs at Great Stream Commons.
A $12.5 million bet on Union County has started to take shape in Gregg Township, where Italian pasta maker Il Pastaio began work on its first U.S. plant and promised at least 74 full-time jobs. The project works out to roughly $169,000 in investment for each job, a sign of how capital-intensive modern food manufacturing has become.
Pennsylvania officials said the Allenwood site won a multi-state competition against New York and New Jersey. The company’s growing U.S. import business helped push Il Pastaio toward domestic production, and Great Stream Commons gave the project a ready-made industrial setting on Route 15 with room to expand.
The new facility is planned at about 71,300 square feet. At launch, it was expected to employ about 75 people, and Chief Executive Pierluigi Colombi said the workforce could double in three or four years. That kind of growth would give Union County a larger manufacturing footprint and more secondary work for trucking, maintenance and other local services tied to food production.
Il Pastaio, founded in Brescia, Italy, in 1983, operates three manufacturing locations in Italy and specializes in gnocchi and potato products sold under the Il Pastaio and Patarò brands. State officials said the plant could also strengthen Pennsylvania agriculture, with ingredients such as potatoes potentially sourced from farmers in the state.
The Commonwealth’s support package includes up to $72,200 in Manufacturing Tax Credit Program credits and a $111,000 WEDnetPA grant to train workers. Governor Josh Shapiro and Department of Community and Economic Development Secretary Rick Siger framed the deal as a win for Pennsylvania’s manufacturing and farm economy, and for Union County it adds a global food producer to a 667-acre business park with more than 30 years of industrial history.
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