Agropur, Canada’s biggest dairy co-op, has taken another step into the U.S. market by buying Trega Foods of Wisconsin for an undisclosed sum.
Trega, headquartered in Little Chute on the east side of Appleton, runs three facilities in eastern Wisconsin making cheddar, feta, mozzarella, provolone and mozza sticks for a number of wholesale and retail companies and for private store brands.
The company also makes whey protein isolates and lactose ingredients for products such as protein bars and baby foods.
Trega, which was known as Weyauwega Milk Products until 2003, processes about 650 million litres of milk per year, for annual sales of about US$300 million. It was formed from mergers with two other companies in the region between 1998 and 2000.
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Trega will still operate under the Trega name and with its current president, Doug Simon, reporting to Agropur’s cheese and functional products division, Agropur said in a release Thursday.
Agropur said the acquisition “allows the organization to reinforce its
position on the North American and international dairy scene.”
“We are increasing our presence in the U.S. and this business
transaction is in direct link with our development strategy,” Agropur CEO Pierre Claprood said in the release.
Quebec-based Agropur, which operates 22 dairy processing plants and offices in North America and Argentina, made its first U.S. acquisition, Indiana cheese plant Deutsch Kase Haus, in 2002.
Agropur’s news comes two days after Quebec dairy firm Saputo announced plans to buy another Wisconsin cheese firm, Alto Dairy Co-operative, for US$160 million.
