-February 25,2022-
Tulare officials have been told by the new owner of the Kraft Cheese plant along Highway 99 in Tulare that they will expand the facility adding a new cheese line to several varieties produced at the plant. French-owned Lactalis completed the purchase of three Kraft plants last November.
With the acquisition, Lactalis acquired a portfolio of iconic cheese brands that includes Cracker Barrel®, Breakstone’s®, Knudsen®, Hoffman’s® and a perpetual license for the use of the Kraft® brand in natural, grated and international cheeses. Lactalis also acquires the Cheez Whiz® brand outside the United States, Canada, Mexico, Venezuela and the Philippines and a license for the use of the Velveeta® brand in natural and international cheeses. The acquisition includes approximately 750 employees and three production facilities located in Tulare, CA, Walton, NY and Wausau, WI.
Tulare Assistant City Manager Josh McDonnell says the company told the city to be looking out for a site plan review application that would detail construction plans for the expansion of the $38 million facility, just one of 8 dairy related plants in Tulare where milk is king. Expansions are also in the works at US Cold Storage and Saputo Cheese in town.
The Kraft/Lactalis plant currently employs around 250.
The Kraft Tulare facility was originally a Louis Rich turkey plant in the 1990s but closed and later was converted by the parent company to make cheese, mostly mozzarella and parmesan.
The businesses in the U.S. will operate as Lactalis Heritage Dairy, a newly formed division of Lactalis based in Chicago