Commercial Creamery Co. broke ground on the third expansion in three years at its manufacturing and spray drying facility in Jerome, ID. The addition includes four new blenders, each of which will be housed in a dedicated blending bay sealed with positive air pressure to prevent cross-contamination of flavors and spices.

A 92,000-sq.-ft. warehouse for the storage and handling of a variety of fruits is being built by the Port of Wilmington in Wilmington, DE. Slated for a December 2005 completion, the warehouse will include three fruit storage rooms, enclosed loading docks, a fruit inspection room and supporting office space.

Silliker opened a new 16,500-sq.-ft. food testing facility in Cypress, CA. The facility includes robotic automation in areas ranging from media preparation to testing systems and nearly doubles the amount of available laboratory space. The company will relocate its staff of 50 people to the new site.

Paulaur Corp. completed a 25,000-sq.-ft. expansion to its Cranbury, NJ, manufacturing facility. The expansion provides additional production and warehouse space and brings the total floor plan to 145,000 sq. ft. The expansion has allowed the company to increase custom blending and packaging capacity.

Astaris has broken ground on a technical center in the St. Louis suburb of Webster Groves, MO. The facility will feature a laboratory and interactive center with areas dedicated to applications research, food formulation development, phosphate compound synthesis and analytical support.