“Our producers have been at the vanguard of the dairy sector for over 100 years, constantly building on their outstanding record of sustainability and stewardship practices,” said Stan Ryan, president and CEO of Darigold. “They are proud to boost the co-op’s competitiveness with this future-forward investment in a next-generation dairy facility, preserving the legacy of nearly 350 multigenerational farms.”

In addition to investing approximately $500 million in the project, Darigold said it expects to create more than 1,000 on-site and indirect supply chain and services jobs. Initial site development is expected to start in early 2022, with full commercial production targeted for late 2023 or early 2024.

Schuman Cheese, the largest U.S. importer of Italian cheeses, said it is celebrating 75 years of family-owned and -operated cheesemaking, importing and processing in 2021. A modest import business started by Arthur Schuman in the 1940s with a passion and energy that has withstood the test of time, the Fairfield, N.J.-based company said it has grown into a renowned and respected leader in the cheese industry throughout the world.

Schuman’s team of skilled cheesemakers craft their own world-class cheeses domestically in Wisconsin, adding to the company’s robust import business.

“We make it our family’s mission to bring consumers cheeses that are expertly crafted, featuring distinctive tastes and textures that leave them excited to try more,” said Allison Schuman, chief business development officer at Schuman Cheese. “We are so thrilled to celebrate our 75th year with an everlasting determination to produce quality cheese and do so while evolving with the needs of our audience.”

Turkey Hill LLC, a Conestoga, Pa.-based manufacturer and distributor of ice cream, frozen novelties and refrigerated drinks for the retail, foodservice and alternative channels, announced the appointments of Andy Jacobs as CEO and Paul Gagliano as chief customer officer.

Jacobs, who joined Turkey Hill’s board of directors two years ago, has approximately 30 years of experience in the food and beverage industry, most recently serving as executive vice president, chief customer & experience officer, and chief operating officer for Hostess Brands, a branded packaged food business focused on manufacturing, selling and distributing snack cake products in North America. Before joining Hostess, he served as president of Wolfgang Candy Co. Jacobs’ other prior experiences include leadership positions at The Hershey Co., Branch’s Confections and Nabisco, Turkey Hill said.

Gagliano joins Turkey Hill with approximately 30 years of experience in the food and beverage industry, most recently serving as executive vice president and chief customer officer for SlimFast, a provider of nutritional products. Before joining SlimFast, Gagliano served as senior vice president of North American sales for CytoSport Inc., a sports-oriented provider of nutritional products, including Muscle Milk.

Tillamook County Creamery Association (TCCA) launched the Partnership for Creamier Ice Cream, “a public service campaign dedicated to ensuring every scoop of ice cream has more cream, less air and better ingredients.” Tillamook, Ore.-based TCCA said it is well suited to lead the partnership, having been making ice cream with more cream and less air than industry standards require since 1947.

Serving as spokesperson and president of the Partnership for Creamier Ice Cream is Tillamook ice cream super fan and style icon Baddie Winkle, who, at 92 years old, knows a thing or two about how ice cream should taste and isn't shy about sharing her thoughts in a new series of public service announcements featured on MoreCreamLessAir.com.

"When you get to be my age, you earn the right to tell it like it is,” Winkle said. “And I'd like to tell you that I like my ice cream creamy-as-all get out. Nothing tastes better than a bowlful of extra creamy, extra delicious, extra bomb Tillamook Ice Cream.”

To watch the PSAs featuring Baddie Winkle and join the Partnership for Creamier Ice Cream, visit MoreCreamLessAir.com.

Danone Manifesto Ventures (DMV) said it acquired a majority stake in Harmless Harvest, an Oakland, Calif.-headquartered producer of organic coconut-based products, including coconut water and dairy-free coconut yogurt alternatives, as DMV furthers its investment position and partnership efforts. DMV is the New York-headquartered corporate venture arm of Paris-based Danone, a global producer of fresh dairy and plant-based foods and beverages.

Springside Cheese Corp., Oconto Falls, Wis., said C.J. Crowther was promoted to national sales manager. During his 15 months with Springside Cheese, Crowther’s work to redefine the wholesale process and customer experience brought Springside Cheese’s products to new markets and customers throughout Springside’s Wisconsin and Colorado communities. He established customer bases within distributors, co-packers, grocery channels, c-stores, specialty shops, restaurants, local FFAs and local food banks. 

In his new role, Crowther will continue to leverage consumer data and trends to help identify new partnerships and production opportunities while building customer relationships and experiences across the nation, the company said.

Jaisen Kohmuench, vice president-international for Erie, Pa.-based Eriez, announced the promotion of Gareth Meese to regional sales director-EMEA. Meese, who formerly served as Eriez-Europe sales director, will now direct, align and support Eriez’ strategic sales efforts over a wider geography, including Europe, the Middle East, India and Northern Africa. Eriez offers separation technologies for a variety of industries.

London-based Tate & Lyle PLC, a global provider of food and beverage ingredients and solutions, said it launched a new sustainability program to enable stevia growers in China to lower their environmental impact and gain greater economic benefit from production the no-calorie sweetener. Developed with environmental charity Earthwatch Europe and being rolled out with support from Nanjing Agricultural University, the outreach program provides farming families in Dongtai, East China, with training to help them to modernize farming practices and achieve sustainability-related accreditation for their stevia.

RM2, self-proclaimed “pioneer of the smart pallet revolution,” announced the grand opening of its newest automated pallet wash and sort facility — in Birmingham, Ala. The 2-acre facility is RM2’s fourth automated wash facility and 34th network location in the United States and is strategically located to service the upstream supply-chain pallet needs of the Orlando, Fla.-based company’s food industry customers located east of the Mississippi. The Birmingham facility, which is operated in partnership with RM2’s logistics partner, Priority Global Express Inc., features a dedicated trailer parking area and a 1.2-million annual pallet-washing capacity.

Endress+Hauser, Greenwood, Ind., announced an expansion of its partnership with sales representative Field Instruments and Controls in the Pacific Northwest region. Field Instruments and Controls now will be Endress+Hauser’s authorized service provider for Oregon, Washington and the Idaho panhandle.

BluePrint Automation Inc., Chesterfield, Va., said BluePrint Automation Group, Woerden, Netherlands, acquired Jongerius Hanco B.V., located in Amersfoort, Netherlands. Jongerius Hanco BV is a supplier of multi-packaging (bag-in-bag) systems in the secondary packaging industry worldwide. The company provides custom solutions and works closely together with its customers to boost production capacity, improve quality and increase output efficiency. Jongerius Hanco has exported its machines to more than 50 countries worldwide.

Hayward, Calif.-headquartered Heat and Control said it celebrated a special milestone on June 1, 2021, with the 100th birthday of its founder, Andrew (Andy) Caridis. He is known as a family-oriented business owner, creative problem-solver and trailblazer in the industrial food production community. The Hayward team gathered for the first time in more than 15 months to wish Caridis a very happy birthday, enjoy the pre-summer weather, and begin a new chapter.

Caridis began his career in engineering in the early 1950s when industrial consumer goods manufacturers began investing in new ideas and technologies around the automation of food production to make better products, increase volume, improve efficiencies, create new product categories and reach new markets. Credited with or supervising more than 130 patents over the course of 70 years, he has been integral in advancing the food sector of the global manufacturing industry and helped companies large and small grow, adapt and improve significantly, the company said.