Bongards Creameries Spending $125 Million on Perham, Minn., Plant Expansion

June 26, 2023

This project includes expansion of the milk intake bays, cheese packaging equipment, whey drying and packaging equipment, whey warehousing and wastewater treatment.

Dave Fusaro

Bongards Creameries, a cheese and whey manufacturer, recently announced a major expansion of its Perham, Minn., plant. The $125 million project will increase overall plant capacity to 5.5 million pounds of milk per day – an increase of 30%.

Bongards previously completed a significant expansion of the Perham plant in 2015, expanded warehouse capacity in 2022 and replaced the existing cheese vats and evaporator earlier this year. “With this latest investment, we will be able to continue supporting the growth of our business, allow our current farmer-owners to expand and allow us to bring on new members,” said CEO Daryl Larson.

This project includes expansion of the milk intake bays, cheese packaging equipment, whey drying and packaging equipment, whey warehousing and wastewater treatment. Major work on the project is expected to commence in July and should be completed in June 2025. Bongards Creameries is a co-op owned by dairy farmers in Minnesota and North Dakota.

About the Author

Dave Fusaro | Editor in Chief

Dave Fusaro has served as editor in chief of Food Processing magazine since 2003. Dave has 30 years experience in food & beverage industry journalism and has won several national ASBPE writing awards for his Food Processing stories. Dave has been interviewed on CNN, quoted in national newspapers and he authored a 200-page market research report on the milk industry. Formerly an award-winning newspaper reporter who specialized in business writing, he holds a BA in journalism from Marquette University. Prior to joining Food Processing, Dave was Editor-In-Chief of Dairy Foods and was Managing Editor of Prepared Foods.