Bongards commits $135m to expand process-cheese facility

Bongards’ capital project will extend its existing process-cheese site by approximately 120,000 square feet. The addition comprises 50,000 square feet dedicated to high-efficiency processing and a further 70,000 square feet for an automated warehouse.

When the enlarged facility is fully operational, it is expected to produce an additional 180m pounds of process cheese each year. The planned volume is intended for institutional buyers and domestic foodservice networks, as well as retail grocery chains and industrial customers that purchase cheese ingredients.

The company also identifies export channels as a destination for the added output. The expansion therefore combines increased manufacturing capacity with warehouse infrastructure designed to handle larger volumes across domestic and international distribution routes.

Automated machinery and advanced processing systems are central to the plant’s design. The upgraded infrastructure is intended to support more consistent products, more efficient unit handling and greater flexibility in adapting cheese formulations to individual customer specifications.

The automated warehouse is designed to simplify cold-chain distribution. According to the project description, the system will reduce internal handling costs and help protect operating margins in high-volume channels by streamlining the movement of temperature-sensitive products.

The investment comes as dairy processors in the United States undertake broader structural projects, including efforts by cooperatives to absorb expanding regional milk pools. Bongards’ executive leadership said that increasing process-cheese production would provide member-owners with stable, high-volume processing capacity.

Leadership also said that a larger value-added cheese business could reduce the exposure of member dairy farm families to fluctuations in raw-milk markets while allowing the cooperative to pursue demand in rapidly growing international markets.