The Michigan Milk Producers Association (MMPA) will reactivate a plant once used by the world’s largest maker of mozzarella cheese. MMPA will use the facility in Remus to make cottage cheese once it completes a remodeling and retooling of the recently shuttered operation acquired from Leprino Foods.

The investment will allow MMPA to introduce cottage cheese for the first time to its existing line of dairy products.

“This acquisition represents a meaningful step forward in MMPA’s long term strategy to grow our cooperative, invest in Michigan’s dairy industry and deliver increased value to our members,” said Joe Diglio, president and CEO of MMPA.

MMPA is the ninth largest cooperative in the nation by member milk volume and serves customers in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin.

Originally, the plant was purchased by MMPA in 1983. Leprino Foods began operating it four years later and assumed full ownership of the facility in 2006. In early 2024, MMPA worked with Leprino Foods to shift the plant’s product mix to fit the company’s business needs.

Lance FitzSimmons, president and CEO of Leprino Foods, said his company and MMPA will continue to be important business partners as they have been for several decades.

“We are pleased that we have been able to successfully transfer ownership of the Remus facility back to MMPA, where it will have the opportunity to be a productive asset for the community and for Michigan dairy farmers for many to come,” he said.

Diglio expects a smooth transition before and after the plant is put back into operation due to MMPA’s past involvement with the facility and presence in the local area.

“With our longstanding familiarity with the Remus facility and deep ties to the surrounding community, we are excited about this opportunity to revitalize operations and bring new products to market,” he said.

Leprino Foods, a maker of traditional mozzarella and other cheese blends, has over 50 patents in cheese and dairy ingredient technology.

The company, headquartered in Denver, Colo., owns and operates a cheese and whey manufacturing plant in Allendale, Mich. Other plants belonging to the company are in California, New Mexico, New York and Texas. Leprino Foods also has offices in China and Singapore.

In addition, MMPA is embarking on a project to expand its ultra-filtered milk production capacity by three million pounds a day at an existing plant in Ovid, a community of about 1,400 residents in the central part of Michigan.

The extra production will add to the ultra-filtered milk coming out of another MMPA operation in Constantine, a village of about 2,000 people in St. Joseph County in the southwest part of the state.

Both projects will cost more than $120 million combined and are expected to produce more than 70 jobs, according to MMPA.

“We’re excited to respond to the resurgence in demand for cottage cheese with a product that reflects our high standards and to build on the strong performance of our ultra-filtered milk produced in Constantine. Together, these investments position MMPA to serve our customers more competitively and ensure long term value for our members,” said Doug Chapin, MMPA board chairman.

The work at both sites was incentivized, in part, by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC).

MEDC CEO and Michigan Strategic Fund (MSF) Chairman Quentin Messer Jr. said the continued investment by MMPA creates opportunities for people in and around the area.

“The agricultural industry, including dairy farmers, plays a significant role in Michigan’s economy from raising cows to processing facilities and continuing product innovation in the food science industry. Their work continues to show up on grocery shelves and at dinner tables. The MSF board is proud to support them,” he said.

The investments also support MMPA’s strategic goals of expanding its manufacturing footprint, enhancing production capabilities and strengthening the dairy supply chain while staying rooted in the cooperative’s nearly 110-year legacy of member-focused leadership, MMPA officials said.