Prime Location
Lackawanna County is on the rise thanks
to infl ux of businesses and residents
Whether it is because of its close proximity to major metropolitan
markets, lower cost of doing business or its high quality of life, more
and more businesses and people are making Lackawanna County home.
1.8%
OF NEW
LACKAWANNA COUNTY
RESIDENTS COME FROM THE
NYC METROPOLITAN AREA
According to United States Census data, the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre-
Hazleton Metropolitan Area has seen its workforce increase by 3.2 percent.
Lackawanna County especially has seen an infl ux of residents from the New
York Metropolitan Area, with 1.8 percent of newcomers originally hailing from
that region.
What makes Lackawanna County a viable location to live and work? The
response to that question could be just as varied as the types of businesses
choosing to locate here.
This past summer, Socafé purchased the former Grove Textiles
building in Dunmore Borough, making it their corporate
headquarters and bringing 130 jobs to the region. Founded in
1987 and originally based in Newark, N.J., Socafe provides the
coffee roasting industry with quality coffee and machinery, as
well as the branding, packaging and distribution of single serve
pods to thousands of retail stores across the nation and dozens
of online outlets. It also manufactures single serve coffee for its
own brands, as well as existing customer brands, while offering
private label brands for other roasters and retail chains.
+ 130 JOBS
“For our company, the reasons why we
relocated to Lackawanna County were
multipronged,” said Joseph Fernandes
III, vice president of Socafe. “The cost of
utilities is much lower and the workforce
is hardworking and productive. Together
with a lower tax rate and a very pro-
business atmosphere, our new location
opens us up to raw materials that we
didn’t have before. In addition, we found
the lower shipping rate to distribute
our products is positioning us as more
competitive to clients.”
Simon Roozrokh, chief executive of Select Products Holdings
LLC, Long Island, invested in Lackawanna County by
purchasing a building in Vandling, where it will produce its
own line of commercial tissue products, and branded
labels for companies such as Redner’s Markets, Big Lots
and Cascade.
“Our new location will serve as our manufacturing hub,
providing effi cient service and distribution of our product lines to our network
along the East Coast,” Mr. Roozrokh said. “The business assistance provided by
The Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce made for a smooth transition into the
community and we are excited to call Northeastern Pennsylvania home.”
8 • The Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce
3.2%
WORKFORCE
INCREASE
“...we are
excited to call
Northeastern
Pennsylvania
home.”