The big cheese! Check out Kilkenny food giant’s amazing new $470m plant in US
Operations got underway today at Kilkenny-based Glanbia’s new state-of-the-art cheese and whey plant in the US.
The local food giant released these pictures (above and below) of the US€470 million facility in St Johns, Michigan, this morning to mark the occasion.
Commissioning operations at MWC will take place over the next eight months. When fully operational, the 375,000 square foot facility based on a 120 acre site will process a staggering 3.6 million litres of milk per day into a range of superior quality block cheese and value added whey products for US and international markets.
MWC, A joint venture between Glanbia Nutritionals, Dairy Farmers of America, Inc. (DFA), and Select Milk Producers Inc., is one of the most technically advanced dairy processing facilities in the US, designed and built over a two year period to meet exacting food manufacturing standards.
The company said St Johns was selected as the site for the facility “due to the 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”.
Glanbia Nutritionals CEO Brian Phelan said: “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 onsite 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 & Select Milk Producers.”
Glanbia Nutritionals, DFA and Select Milk Producers are partners in another joint venture in Clovis, New Mexico called Southwest Cheese, which is the largest cheese and whey manufacturing facility in the world. Southwest Cheese opened in 2005 and recently concluded a US$130 million expansion in response to growing global demand for dairy products.
