Proliant and Hilmar tie the knot after 13 years
have worked together to develop whey protein and lactose products.
Hilmar now hopes to increase its presence in the functional foods
field by purchasing Proliant Dairy Ingredients from its parent
company.
Hilmar and Proliant Dairy Ingredients, a producer of applied dairy protein sciences for food, health and nutrition, began working together in 1991. They now feel they now need to be part of the same company to maximize their potential, domestically and internationally, in the protein market.
"We have had a very successful partnership with Hilmar Cheese Company that began with only a vision of future opportunities for whey protein," said Roger Jacobsen, president of LGI, the parent company of Proliant Dairy Ingredients. "This is the appropriate time for Hilmar Cheese to have the opportunity for future endeavors."
Rick Kaepernick, general manager and vice president of Hilmar, explained that these "future endeavors" are still to be defined, but that they plan over the next six months to start developing new products, including functional dairy foods.
"At the moment we are simply excited about having Proliant's research and development facility on Hilmar's operations site," said Kaepernick.
The purchase of Proliant Dairy Ingredients by Hilmar Cheese Company also signals the dissolution of the dairy ingredients division's partnership with Trega Foods.
The agreement between Proliant and Trega Foods, a manufacturer of cheese and dairy-based ingredients, was announced in June 2003 to promote the production, sales and marketing of whey protein isolates.
