Organic Valley Rebuilds Oregon Plant After Devastating Fire
Dusting off the ashes from a three-alarm fire that heavily damaged the Organic Valley’s McMinnville, Ore., 25,000-square foot main building in 2021, the cooperative has since rebuilt.
According to Mark Pfeiffer, vice president of internal operations with Organic Valley, several new additions were added to the plant.
“In the aftermath of the fire, we undertook the reconstruction of our High-Temperature Short-Time (HTST) pasteurizer and the room dedicated to fluid processing,” he shares. “In addition to this, we enhanced our raw milk receiving capabilities by adding an 80,000-pound silo capacity, coupled with the construction of a cutting-edge, three-bay milk receiving facility.”
The cooperative also revamped a compact room designed specifically for drying milk powder, enabling them to produce non-fat dry milk powder (NFDM) in substantial quantities, packed in large totes, each capable of holding around 2,000 pounds.
“This new setup significantly improves our capacity to manage a range of milk segregation needs, which is particularly beneficial when receiving organic milk or conventional milk in various forms,” Pfeiffer says.
The new additions signify that Organic Valley members once again have a facility where they can bring their milk for processing. The additions of the reconstruction happened in two phases. Phase one began on Oct. 4, 2021, and the plant began processing milk again in May 2022. The second phase was completed earlier this month.
“While our plant isn't operating at its maximum capacity, it presently meets the processing requirements of our members' milk volumes in the Pacific Northwest,” Pfeiffer said.
With the addition of two 40,000-gallon silos the plant’s capacity nearly doubled capacity. Today, the creamery has resumed making milk powder in 2,000-pound totes for large customers and is processing 2% pasteurized milk, half-and-half and cream.
Pfeiffer notes they still have a significant journey ahead.
“Our plant has not been restored to its pre-fire capabilities, which includes the production of butter and an automated line for bagging 50-pound batches of non-fat dry milk powder,” he says. “Given the rapid changes in the dairy market, we are in the process of exploring potential next steps and construction phases for our facility.”
Nearly 50 miles southwest of Portland, the Organic Valley McMinnville creamery was acquired in 2016, about 50 miles southwest of Portland, in 2016.
