Laurel, Md., is now home to one of the world’s largest ice cream plants. Last month, Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream Holdings Inc. celebrated the completion of a $210 million expansion of its Laurel Operations Center (LOC), the largest of six ice cream manufacturing facilities operated by the company across the country. Dreyer’s has hired an additional 450 employees — mostly ice cream makers and shipping and maintenance personnel — to staff the new 705,000-square-foot facility. In other news, the company has built a Direct Store Service (DSS) network that delivers ice cream and frozen snacks directly from Dreyer’s manufacturing and distribution facilities to retail and foodservice outlets across the United States.

Le Mars, Iowa-based Wells’ Dairy Inc. held a ribbon-cutting ceremony last month to celebrate the opening of its new Corporate Center in Le Mars. The center’s design blends with the natural topography of the northwest Iowa landscape. The company has chosen to assign its 35 meeting rooms with names relevant to the history of Wells’ Dairy and the community it has called home for 93 years.  Each meeting room name highlights events, locations and people that have played a significant role in the development of the company and the city of Le Mars.  

The international status of milk as a healthy nutritious product has been strengthened by the formation of a new alliance of international dairy companies to be called Global Dairy Platform (GDP). Four leading global dairy companies — Fonterra, Campina, Dairy Farmers of America and Arla Foods — working jointly with the International Dairy Federation (IDF) — has been launched to complement and support the work of existing dairy organizations.

A group of international companies have formed a new omega-3 trade association called the Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3 (GOED Omega-3). The association met officially for the first time in October during Expo East in Baltimore. The meeting acted as a jump start to this international not-for-profit trade association, which is committed to increasing the market and regulatory approvals for EPA and DHA-based products, developing EPA and DHA consumer awareness and education strategies, and implementing quality standards and other measures that will protect the omega 3 EPA/DHA category.