TWIN FALLS — Yogurt company Chobani is expanding its facility in Twin Falls, making it the biggest yogurt production facility in the world. Currently the company’s Twin Falls plant employs more than 900 people in a facility of more than 1 million square feet.

The expansion is yet another huge investment by Chobani, which broke ground in Twin Falls in 2011 for a new plant — an initial investment of $450 million. The new expansion, which adds new production lines as well as new offices, will be an additional $100 million investment.

According to Chobani’s vice president of corporate communications Michael Gonda, if you account for future investments planned for the area, Chobani will have invested more than $700 million in the Magic Valley.

“We believe in this community and investing here,” said Gonda. “We built this plant to look toward the future.”

Chobani is already one of the largest employers in Idaho, and the expansion will add an estimated 100 jobs in both production and in upper management. While new jobs are always good for the local economy, Twin Falls mayor Shawn Barigar said they are actually struggling to find qualified applicants because of a shallow labor pool.

“It certainly comes with its challenges,” said Barigar. “The growth of Chobani has been the gift that keeps on giving.”

Barigar said they have been working with local colleges and high schools to ensure students are aware of the employment options locally. They are also working to give students the training needed for positions at Chobani and other companies such as Clif Bar, which will soon be moving into the area.

Barigar said they have also been working to promote Twin Falls as an ideal place to live to attract new residents. More people moving to Twin Falls means a bump for the local economy for everyone from farmers to construction workers to car salesmen.

Chobani also provides a highly competitive wage and benefits package, which both Barigar and Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter have said is been a huge boost for the state, which has suffered from notoriously low wages.

“It creates upward pressure on the wage scale,” said Barigar. “Cliff Bar is also an employee owned company which means great benefits packages as well.”

The plant currently is the sole manufacturer of Chobani’s popular Flip cup yogurts. With the expansion, the company is also rolling out new products such as drinks and dips. It produces approximately 40,000 single-serve cups per hour, which use milk and other products from local farmers — another stimulant to Idaho’s agriculture-based economy.

With the expansion, the new plant will also be the main site for new product testing and innovations for Chobani, according to Otter.

“We are the biggest cheerleaders of Idaho,” said Chobani founder Hamdi Ulukaya, an immigrant from Turkey. “When we travel, we talk about the people first, the community, and I tell people to invest in Idaho. I know I will continue to invest in Chobani, invest in Idaho, and this is just a celebration of the first step.”