New, improved cheese plant

PORTAGE, Wis. — The final steps in restoring production at the Associated Milk Producers Inc. cheese processing and packaging plant in Portage are underway following a January 2023 fire. While improving upon the original design, the revamped facility will feature additional space for packaging and production, and upgrades to heating, ventilation, air conditioning and flooring. Improvements in plant design will increase production efficiency, process flow and product quality.

The plant is organized in two main production areas — natural cheese packaging and processed cheese production and packaging. The area of the plant primarily impacted by the fire was the processed cheese operations. 

Tyler Banks, AMPI Portage division manager, said the first step was getting the plant back up and running following the fire. Some production lines were back in action within six weeks, while others came online later in 2023.

“Once cleanup following the fire was complete, the natural department came back online to full production relatively quickly,” Banks said.

The rebuild is being completed in phases with production capacity growing upon completion of each phase. The project is slated for completion in late fall, at which point the plant will return to full production.

AMPI is currently in the phase of relocating HVAC and processed cheese loaf production. The area impacted by the fire is being demolished and will become new spaces for operations toward the end of summer. The final phase of the rebuild will include construction of the new receiving area and the processed slice cheese production area.

 The facility’s physical footprint will decrease slightly, but the overall processing space will increase. Banks said a new layout provides better utilization of space. Rethinking traffic patterns and the plant’s operational footprint has made it possible to repurpose areas to make more room for operations and receiving while also creating space to expand production in the future.

“Renovations were focused on improving the processing and production environments to be the industry’s best in terms of design standards and air quality,” Banks said. “At the same time, we considered space to allow opportunities for further growth and flexibility with automation.

 The project features a variety of improvements, including stainless steel fire suppression throughout along with hygienic and sanitary HVAC design.

 “Many areas have been designed above industry standards to allow for reliable and efficient operations into the next decades,” Banks said. “At the same time, we are renovating areas that will allow for equipment installation to expand production capacity and future business growth.”

 In addition, there will be space to accommodate future investments in new or expanded production equipment.

AMPI’s senior vice president of sales and marketing, Marshall Reece, said customer demand for AMPI processed American cheese slices and loaves and natural cheese shreds and chunks continues to be strong in the U.S. and abroad.

“We’ve developed a reputation for producing award-winning cheese at our Portage plant, and customers appreciate knowing the story behind the products,” Reece said. “AMPI is a dairy farmer-owned cooperative with members and employees committed to providing quality care for land, animals, the co-op and communities — that’s our ‘Co-op Crafted’ promise.”

AMPI is headquartered in New Ulm, Minnesota, and owned by dairy farm families from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota. AMPI is the largest farmer-owned cheese cooperative in the U.S. Cheese, butter and powdered dairy products are marketed to foodservice, retail and food ingredient customers.

Dairy farmer and AMPI chairman of the board Dave Peterson, who milks 70 cows near Boyd, has been an AMPI member since 1986.

“AMPI has long invested in value-added manufacturing, enabling dairy farmer-owners to capture more value from every drop of milk,” Peterson said. “Owning a processing and packaging plant moves us one step closer to the customer.”

Although the Portage plant does not receive and process milk from member farms, it is an important link for its dairy farmers, providing various product opportunities. The Portage plant receives cheese made at external and internal sources, and Peterson said each AMPI member owns and benefits from the facility which they call their “super foodservice” plant.

Production and customer order fulfillment are ongoing throughout the rebuild process as AMPI works to restore production to pre-fire levels.

  “We’re excited to be in this phase where new construction is happening and our visions are becoming reality,” Banks said.