US – Oregon’s leading farmer-owned dairy company  Tillamook County Creamery Association (TCCA), is spreading its wings beyond its home state with a new dairy plant in Decatur, Illinois.

The plant which will specialize in ice cream manufacturing plant is the dairy’s first outside Oregon state and is scheduled to open in the latter half of 2024.

TCCA said the move was made in response to rising demand for its ice cream in the East which saw the company add 1.6 million new customers and a 60% increase in ice cream sales over the past year.

“Opening this Illinois manufacturing location will enable us to make more of our ice cream closer to the eastern US, where demand for our ice cream is growing fast,” Mr Bever said.

The farmer-owned dairy however intends to have the local community in Decatur be the primary customer base for the factory.

“Consumer demand for Tillamook Ice Cream has grown exponentially over the past several years and this new facility is an investment in our continued national expansion plans,” TCCA’s Vice President of Operations Mike Bever said.

 “We are proud to be able to expand our manufacturing footprint even further as another step toward bringing Tillamook to more fans around the country.”

Prairie Farms, the previous owner of the Decatur factory, shut down the plant in the first quarter of 2022, TCCA’s investment is therefore a lifeline for the community as it is anticipated to create about 45 jobs.

“Tillamook’s plans to operate here are very exciting for our community and we are proud that another company has chosen Decatur for their first Midwest facility,” said  Julie Moore Wolfe, Decatur Mayor.

TCCA has stated that it will spend the next 18 to 24 months modernizing the plant to enable it to produce both Tillamook family-size (48 oz) and Tillamook food service ice cream (3 gallons) containers.

 

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