Valley Queen Cheese Announces $50 Million Expansion
Local News June 27, 2017 Staff 1
Valley Queen's Board of Directors has approved a $50 million investment in its facility in Milbank. This expansion project, dubbed "VQ Next," will increase...
Valley Queen's Board of Directors has approved a $50 million investment in its facility in Milbank. This expansion project, dubbed "VQ Next," will increase the firm's processing capacity by 25% to over 5 million pounds of milk per day. All milk will be supplied from dairies within a 100-mile radius of its processing facility.
The expansion project will occur within Valley Queen's existing footprint at the Milbank facility and will maximize the efficiency of the existing operating systems. The VQ Next project began in March and is expected to be completed in the second half of 2018.
Valley Queen plans to hire an additional 25 employees, a 10% increase to its existing workforce, to build its team to handle the additional manufacturing capacity. Doug Wilke, CEO of Valley Queen, stated, "This project is another example of the company's ongoing commitment to the success of its customers, employees and dairy producers. "
Founded in 1929, Valley Queen is a family owned and operated dairy manufacturer that converts 1 .5 billion pounds of high-quality milk annually into a variety of natural cheeses, dried lactose, WPC80, and anhydrous milk fat that is marketed and utilized by private label and nationally branded consumer food companies. Valley Queen's owners, board of directors, and 250 employees strive to become the premier privately owned dairy manufacturer in the United States.