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Suntado, a US-based contract manufacturer of dairy and other beverages, has opened a 190,000-square-foot production facility in Burley, Idaho. The company expects the facility to be commercially ready this month – at which point it will be able to process up to 1 million lbs of local milk per day into shelf-stable and extended shelf life (ESL) milk and other liquid dairy products. The new site has the capacity and capability to produce a wide variety of dairy-based and non-dairy beverages and incorporates a vertically integrated milk supply. The site processes and packages products in one location. Located in Idaho, the US’s third-largest dairy producing state, the site is owned by Dirk Reitsma and Jesus Hurtado, who own 6,000 organic and 30,000 conventional dairy cows within 20 miles of the processing facility, ensuring the plant’s supply of fresh local milk.
Tory Nichols, office of the CEO, Suntado, said: “This vertically integrated facility and our product offerings are completely different than anything out there right now. I’m energised by the fact that we’ve built this plant from the ground up, creating a secure, locally sourced milk supply. This facility will offer countless brands the flexibility and scalability they seek, and Tetra Pak’s input and shelf-stable expertise has proven invaluable to our efforts along the way.”
This is phase one of a three-phase project for the facility, located on 23 acres of land – when all three phases are complete, the site is predicted to have triple the capacity. The facility will not produce its own brand of Suntado dairy products; instead, it will enable retailers and national brands to create private-label beverages. The initial focus is on shelf-stable and ESL milk, cream and other dairy-based beverages, with the ability to expand beyond into additional, non-dairy beverages in the future. Many of the new products will be packaged in
Tetra Pak cartons. Seth Teply, president and CEO of Tetra Pak US and Canada, commented: “With a longer shelf life and no need to refrigerate until opened, shelf-stable dairy products support the transformation of food systems by increasing access to safe food and reducing food waste. We’re excited that Suntado chose to work with us to create the innovative dairy and beverage facility of the future.”
The initial project includes five Tetra Pak shelf-stable and ESL packaging lines, including two TT/3 filling machines for the production of Tetra Top packages in 500ml, 750ml and 1-litre sizes. It also includes two A3/Flex aseptic filling machines for the production of Tetra Brik Aseptic Edge packages in 500ml, 1-litre ml sizes, and one A3/Compact Flex aseptic filling machine for the production of Tetra Prisma Aseptic packages with DreamCap in a 250ml size.