SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) -- Upstate New York-based Greek yogurt maker Chobani Inc. has been named the national winner of a federal entrepreneurship award.

The U.S. Small Business Administration says Tuesday the company is being honored for its fast growth in sales and employment across the country and overseas.

Chobani used an SBA loan to buy a closed Kraft Foods plant, starting with five employees. It now has 1,200 and plans to open the largest yogurt plant in the nation later this year in Twin Falls, Idaho.

The company is based in the Chenango County town of New Berlin, 50 miles south of Syracuse.

Copyright 2012 The AP.