TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - Hiland Dairy held a ribbon-cutting Wednesday for its expanded Tyler facility aimed at keeping up with Texas’ growing population.
The 96,000 square foot facility cost over $100 million to build and is set to produce over 100 million gallons of milk a year, more than four times the previous output. “This is a dream come true,” said Barry Beaman, general manager of Hiland Dairy’s Tyler plant. “This is something we’ve been working on for nine years.”
“I was raised in this business since 1978, and this is the only second dairy in all those years that has been opened as a full-service dairy company,” Beaman added.
The company added new fillers and automated packaging technology in the expanded space.
“It definitely helps when you see this sort of commitment and capital spend in our community,” said Scott Martinez, president of the Tyler Economic Development Council. “It shows that there’s a lot of corporate confidence in Tyler, Texas.”
The older facility will still be used to make plastic milk jugs and handle some of the raw milk.
Dairy plant manager Patrick Moore said having all-new equipment is a milestone. “Dairies typically are older facilities, and so a lot of the equipment is usually older and has been around for quite a few years,” Moore said.
Beaman expects the expanded facility will bring 80 jobs to the area over four years, depending on growth. He added that those jobs start at an average of $60,000 a year, including benefits and overtime. The new facility is set to begin manufacturing products in the next couple of weeks. Beaman mentioned the company is looking at expanding deeper into Louisiana.