A food safety company has relocated its East Coast operations to the Lehigh Valley, drawn by the region's growing concentration of food and beverage manufacturers and its strategic location within a day's drive of customers across the Northeast. 
FlexXray held a ribbon-cutting for its 26,000-square-foot facility in Upper Macungie Township on July 8. The company relocated this Northeastern hub from New Jersey and expects to employ about 40 people when the operation reaches capacity.
The company works with food manufacturers to identify and remove potential foreign material contaminants from products before they reach consumers. FlexXray says its clients include 16 of the nation's 20 largest food and beverage manufacturers, including many large manufacturers in the Lehigh Valley and surrounding regions.
The Lehigh Valley's location was a major factor in the company's decision. Located about an hour from Philadelphia and 90 minutes from New York City, the region is within a day's drive of about one-third of the U.S. population.
"It's just easy for people to get here," said Kurt Westmoreland, FlexXray's Chief Commercial Officer. "The goal of all our facilities is to be within a one-day drive of food manufacturing in a geographical region, so that way they can get a truck to us in one day and get it turned around and they can get it back."
That geographic advantage is complemented by Lehigh Valley’s concentration of food and beverage manufacturers. Lehigh Valley is home to about 120 food and beverage manufacturing establishments, and employment in the industry has grown about 50% faster than overall regional employment during the past five years.
Major brands with operations in the region include Coca-Cola, Boston Beer Co., Ocean Spray, Just Born Quality Confections, Bimbo Bakeries, Bakerly/Norac, Freshpet, Nestlé Purina, and Spot & Tango, which recently announced a $20 million expansion.
The region also continues to attract new investment in the industry. Kerry Group, an Ireland-based coffee producer, recently opened a facility in Hanover Township, Northampton County. Turkish candymaker Kervan USA is developing a manufacturing and packaging facility in Bethlehem and Lower Nazareth Township that will also serve as its U.S. headquarters.
That growing concentration of manufacturers helped convince FlexXray that the Lehigh Valley was the right location for its East Coast operations.
"Companies like FlexXray demonstrate how industry clusters continue to mature in the Lehigh Valley. As more food and beverage manufacturers invest here, specialized suppliers and service providers are finding value in locating nearby, strengthening the region's competitiveness and making it an even more attractive place for future investment,” said Kristin Cahayla-Hoffman, Vice President of Business Development & Attraction at Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation.
When manufacturers detect a possible contaminant during their own quality control process, they can send an entire production batch to FlexXray for inspection. Using X-ray and CT technology, the company determines exactly which products are affected, allowing manufacturers to salvage the remainder instead of discarding an entire production run.
FlexXray says on average about 98% of the products it scans are ultimately determined to be safe, reducing waste and saving manufacturers money. The company can also identify the contaminant — whether metal, plastic, glass, bone, rubber, stone, or another material — helping manufacturers trace the source and prevent similar issues in the future.
Their purpose-built inspection technology can detect contaminants as small as the head of a pin. In 2024, FlexXray inspected more than 113 million pounds of food. The company also provides inspection services for products including cosmetics and consumer health items such as vitamins.
Based in Texas, FlexXray also operates facilities in Idaho, Illinois, Nevada, South Carolina, and France. Its new Lehigh Valley location positions the company to serve food manufacturers throughout the Northeast while adding another specialized supplier to one of the region's fastest-growing manufacturing sectors.
(Photos courtesy of FlexXray)