Protient purchases Wisconsin Whey International assets
By Kate Sander, Chief Editor, Cheese Market News
Protient Inc., a manufacturer of whey proteins headquartered in St. Paul, Minn., has acquired the assets of Wisconsin Whey International of Juda, Wis. The transaction price was not disclosed.
The Juda facility, currently manufacturing whey protein concentrate (WPC) 34 percent and lactose, will continue making those products and will be upgraded so it can manufacture WPC-80 by September, says David Lenzmeier, CEO, Protient. The company expects to begin producing whey protein isolates at the Juda facility during the second quarter of 2002, he adds.
The purchase of Wisconsin Whey's assets is part of the overall growth strategy of Protient, a relative newcomer to the whey protein business — even if its executives aren't. The company was founded in 1998 by Ampersand Ventures, Wellesley, Mass. The company purchased its first facility, a plant in Mountain Lake, Minn., in December 1999.
At the Mountain Lake plant, Protient procures concentrated liquid whey and manufactures it into whey protein hyrolysates, whey protein isolate and extruded whey proteins. At the Juda facility, the company will purchase raw whey from surrounding cheese plants, Lenzmeier says.
In fact, the plentiful supply of whey in the area surrounding Wisconsin Whey was one of the reasons Protient was attracted to it.
Besides the fact that Protient has negotiated a supply contract with Grände Cheese, which has purchased and recently re-opened a closed cheese plant across the street from the former Wisconsin Whey facility, there are several specialty cheesemakers in the immediately surrounding area which can supply whey to Protient. Currently, the former Wisconsin Whey facility processes 1 1/2 million pounds of whey daily; Protient plans to bring that up to 3 million pounds a day.
Protient also is tackling some of the waste water treatment problems that plagued Wisconsin Whey, corrections which will include eliminating the facility's waste water lagoons. Lenzmeier says both Grände and Protient use the same waster water treatment system and both companies are committed to getting the problems fixed and "doing this right."
Lenzmeier credits the 35 Wisconsin Whey employees — who are being invited to stay with the facility under Protient's ownership — with doing an excellent job, noting that they are one of the other reasons that Protient was interested in the facility. In addition, Lenzmeier expresses satisfaction with the quality of the facility, which is relatively new having only been built in 1988. CMN
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• Milk production lower but demand holds up
• Suiza, New England attorneys general settle dairy antitrust investigation
For more information: Cheese Market News, P.O. Box 620244, Middleton, WI 53562; Phone: 608-288-9090; FAX 608-288-9093; website: www.cheesemarketnews.com; e-mail: ksander@cheesemarketnews.com