With Great Lakes Cheese Co. set to open its east Abilene facility in November, the company has scheduled several hiring events for jobs with an average salary of $60,000, Abilene Mayor Anthony Williams said via social media.

The first are Thursday and Friday.

In his update, Williams said the hourly pay for entry-level positions is about $20, or about $40,000 annually, with additional benefits.

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The company is hiring 210 people for the first phase, with training to begin in late October at the 280,000-square-foot production and warehouse facility at 2670 Great Lakes Drive, east of State Highway 36 and Loop 322.

The long-term plan is to have 510 on the payroll by year five of local operations, Williams said.

Following is the schedule of Great Lakes Cheese job fairs in Abilene:

∎ Thursday and Friday: 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Rose Park, 2601 S. Seventh St.

∎ Sept. 20: 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Abilene Convention Center, 1100 N. Sixth St.

∎Sept. 21: 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Abilene Convention Center, 1100 N. Sixth St.

∎ Sept. 27: 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Taylor County Expo Center, Display Building, 1700 State Highway 36

∎ Sept. 29: 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Taylor County Expo Center, Display Building, 1700 State Highway 36

Additional hiring events are planned at Texas State Technical College from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 4 and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 5.

According to a Great Lakes Cheese flyer, applications can be submitted also at jobs.greatlakescheese.com.

With much fanfare, city officials, joined virtually by Gov. Greg Abbott, announced on April 16, 2021, that Hiram, Ohio-based Great Lakes Cheese would open a $184.5 million packaging and distribution plant on a 76-acre lot in Abilene.

The  Development Corporation of Abilene offered a $33.3 million incentive package to attract the company, and the project is the largest in the DCOA's 31-year history.

At a groundbreaking ceremony in May 2021, Dan Zagzebski, president and chief executive officer of Great Lakes Cheese, said that the family- and employee-owned company planned to be here for a long time.

"We focus on generation to generation, not quarter to quarter," he said that day. "Today is just the beginning for us to continue that generational mindset."

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Laura Gutschke is a general assignment reporter and food columnist and manages online content for the Reporter-News.  If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com. 

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Great Lakes Cheese plans hiring events for new Abilene facility