Jerome, Idaho, May 28, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Idaho Milk Products today celebrated the ribbon-cutting of its new ice cream and powder blending facility in Jerome, marking a significant expansion of its operations and reinforcing its position as a leader in value-added dairy ingredients.
Designed with advanced technology and precision processing, the new integrated facility enhances the company’s ability to deliver exceptional quality, consistency, and innovation across an expanded portfolio of dairy products. The operation combines large-scale production capabilities with the flexibility to meet diverse customer needs across both retail and foodservice markets, bringing together high-speed ice cream manufacturing and high-capacity powder blending within a single facility.
The facility supports a wide range of production capabilities—from premium ice cream novelties to bulk formats and custom dairy formulations. Idaho Milk Products can produce up to 54,000 novelty ice cream items per hour, including stick bars, sandwiches, and cones, with options for variegates, inclusions, and dual coatings.
In addition to novelties, the plant offers high-capacity bulk manufacturing, producing up to 14,400 pints per hour or 7,200 48-ounce containers per hour. Flexible packaging options range from 3-ounce servings to half-gallon containers, allowing for tailored solutions that meet precise customer specifications.
Complementing its ice cream capabilities, the facility features advanced dry-blending systems capable of processing up to 16,000 pounds per hour, delivering consistent dairy-based ingredient solutions tailored to specific food applications. With flexible batch sizing, integrated sifting and high-speed filling, and a diverse ingredient portfolio, Idaho Milk Products supports custom formulations designed to meet functional, performance, and market requirements.
“Today marks an important milestone as we celebrate the continued evolution of Idaho Milk Products alongside our commercial, community, and industry partners,” said CEO Daragh Maccabee. “After years of planning, this new facility enables us to advance our milk protein powder business through customized blending solutions while bringing the same value-added approach to cream as we have with milk protein. More importantly, this is a plant built for the future.” Maccabee added, “I feel privileged to lead an exceptional team. Their dedication—along with the support of our dairy farmer owners—positions us to further deliver on our purpose of bringing value to milk for generations.”
John Murphy, Vice President of Operations, emphasized the scale and collaboration behind the project. “Delivering a $190 million project on time and on budget requires expertise, commitment, and strong partnerships,” Murphy said. “This achievement reflects the collective effort of our internal teams and external partners, and we’re proud of the result.”
“With both novelty and bulk ice cream capabilities, this facility expands our ability to innovate and collaborate with customers,” said Louis Armstrong, Ice Cream Business Manager. “We look forward to partnering with brands to develop high-quality ice cream products across a variety of formats and to support their continued growth.”
“Our high-speed, high-capacity blending capabilities strengthen our ability to serve both new and existing customers,” said Kevin Quinn, Vice President of Sales & Marketing. “By leveraging our innovation expertise, we can bring new solutions to market more efficiently, reinforcing our position as a trusted dairy ingredients supplier and expanding our reach across a broader range of applications and market segments.”
Facility Highlights:
- Up to 300 million ice cream novelty items annually
- Up to 66 million pints of ice cream annually
- Up to 14 million gallons of liquid ice cream mix processed annually
- Up to 120 million pounds of dry powder blending products annually
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Idaho Milk Products is a vertically integrated, farmer-owned dairy processor delivering advanced ingredient solutions and finished product capabilities from its Jerome, Idaho campus. A global supplier of Milk Protein Isolate (MPI), Milk Protein Concentrate (MPC), Milk Permeate Powder (MPP), and fresh dairy ingredients, the company combines high-performance manufacturing, precision blending, and ice cream production to support customers across retail, foodservice, and ingredient markets—advancing innovation and bringing value to milk for generations. Learn more at idahomilkproducts.com.