Private investors are planning a $10-million cheese plant near Sussex, N.B., that will create 40 jobs and consume millions of litres of milk.

Mario Ruffalo is one of the investors behind the Cheese New Brunswick project that will be producing a product similar to the popular Reggiano-Parmiagiano type of cheese.

Ruffalo said for copyright reasons they can't call their future product by that well-known name.

"It'll have a East Coast name. We're working on that, but one of the key phrases on it will be 'superior to,' " Ruffalo said Friday.

"So that name will be used somehow. It will be superior to Reggiano-Parmiagiano."

Reggiano-Parmiagiano is a hard granular cheese that is similar to high-quality parmesan from Italy.

The cheese is named after the Italian cities where it is produced: Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena and Bologna

Italian law states that only cheese produced in these provinces can be given the well-known name.

Superior product

The company's website said their product will be superior to the traditional cheese because it will be made in stainless steel equipment compared to copper pots in Italy.

The cheese will also benefit from locating in New Brunswick, according to the company.

Ruffalo said he looked all over Canada for the right place to establish the cheese factory and New Brunswick was a perfect fit.

"Not only is it a fantastic province to do business in, but they have the raw material we're looking for, which is superior to the rest of Canada," Ruffalo said.

"Now I want to say that Canadian milk right across is No. 1, because of our standard. But the fat content we can get from the province of New Brunswick is just slightly higher, which makes it superior."

Ruffalo said he's already acquired the milk quota needed to supply the plant.

Work on the new cheese plant should start in about six months.

In a couple of years, Ruffalo said it is expected another $10 million will be spent to expand the facility.

Good news for farmers

Reg Perry, chairman of the New Brunswick Dairy Farmers, who also owns a dairy farm in the Sussex area, said under marketing agreements, the milk will come from the Maritime provinces as well as Ontario and Quebec.

But, he said, New Brunswick farms will see increased business when the cheese facility is operating.

"We only produce enough product to meet the market," Perry said.

"So if there's an increase in market demand, then we can produce more milk."