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The 375,000-square-foot facility in St. Johns will gear up production over the next eight months.

November 6, 2020

2 Min Read
An advanced dairy processing facility
PRODUCTION BEGINS: MWC is one of the most technically advanced dairy processing facilities in the country. Milk trucks began delivering Oct. 20. Jennifer Kiel

MWC, a $470 million state-of-the-art cheese and whey plant in St. Johns, Mich., began receiving milk Oct. 20 from local farmers, marking the first day of operations for the facility and beginning the commissioning phase. 

Commissioning operations at MWC will take place over the next eight months and will see the initial 1 million pounds of milk per day increase to the facility's designed capacity of 8 million pounds per day.

When fully operational, the 375,000-square-foot facility built on a 120-acre lot will employ 260 people and will process more than 2.9 billion pounds of milk from local farmers into more than 300 million pounds of superior quality block cheese and 20 million pounds of value-added whey protein powders each year. 

A joint venture between Glanbia Nutritionals, Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), and Select Milk Producers, MWC is one of the most technically advanced dairy processing facilities in the U.S., designed and built over a two-year period to meet exact food manufacturing standards.

St. Johns was selected for the site because of its growing supply of high-quality milk in the region, the excellent transportation infrastructure in the region, proximity to customers, and the positive business environment and strong local workforce reputation in the region.

On track through a pandemic

Brian Phelan, CEO of Glanbia Nutritionals says, “We are very pleased to reach this important milestone on our journey to deliver a new ultramodern dairy facility in Michigan for our customers. As we enter this key commissioning phase and begin production at the plant, I would like to thank the entire Glanbia Nutritionals team, and in particular the on-site team, whose expertise and focus have kept the project on track and on budget particularly during the challenges of the last seven months. In addition, I would like to thank the state and city authorities for their continued support and, of course, our great partners, DFA and Select Milk Producers.”  

Dennis Rodenbaugh, executive vice president and president of council operations and ingredients at DFA, adds, “We are excited about this important milestone in the operation, which not only will play a critical role in the dairy industry in Michigan, but will bring value to our family farmer-owners here and across the country.”

Rance Miles, CEO of Select Milk Producers, says, “This partnership began two decades ago with the creation of the Southwest Cheese JV by bringing dairy farmers, processors and local communities together to achieve beneficial results for all. This new facility in Michigan under the same JV partnership is a continuation of that success.”

Source: Glanbia Nutritionals, which is solely responsible for the information provided and is wholly owned by the source. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset.

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