Ornua to expand cheese-making facility in Wisconsin, US

Irish dairy cooperative Ornua has announced plans to expand its Ornua Ingredients North America division by upgrading its cheese-making facility in Hilbert, Wisconsin, US.

For this expansion, the company will invest $10m to increase the production capacity of the plant by 30%.

Ornua Ingredients North America president Rick Pedersen said: “Ornua Ingredients’ core ethos revolves around creating and maintaining long-term partnerships with our customers through innovation, best-in-class technical expertise and a true spirit of collaboration that delivers functional cheeses that meet the demands of brands and consumers.

“The capacity and flexibility enabled by this latest investment will allow us to deliver the scale and breadth of product portfolio required to maintain our position as the leading partner in our customers’ ambitious growth plans.”

Ornua Ingredients North American division is engaged in the production of functional cheese products that are used in the frozen meals, egg dishes, soups, sauces, bakery and pizza products.

The investment in the facility will see the addition of 22,000ft² of warehousing, as well as cooling infrastructure to the operation. It is expected to be completed in February next year.

The plant is equipped with advanced dairy processing equipment and an innovation centre, which supplies functional cheese solutions to Ornua’s US food ingredient and foodservice customers.

In addition to the Hilbert plant, Ornua Ingredients North America operates another cheese-making facility in Byron, Minnesota.

Ornua Ingredients managing director Bernard Condon said: “The latest round of investment to support the ambitious growth plans for Ornua Ingredients North America is a further $10m.

“Ornua Ingredients North America have had great success in partnering with blue-chip customers, delivering innovative cheese solutions and as these customers grow their business, we are creating additional capacity to serve them.

“This latest round of investment is consistent with the investments made since Ornua acquired Thiel Cheese and it is a business that will see further investment over the coming years.”

Last November, Ornua strengthened its footprint in Spain by opening a cheese production facility in Ávila.

Built with a €30m investment, the facility is located at Ornua’s former cheese manufacturing site, which was destroyed by a fire.