Christina M. Seiler, Managing Editor, and Wesley Dehne, Staff Writer, Rochester Sentinel
Dean Foods Co. is closing its 1700 N. Old U.S. 31 plant and sending its production work elsewhere in Indiana after 60 years in Rochester.
The move will mean the phase-out of 138 local jobs, said Dean Foods spokeswoman Jamaison Schuler Tuesday morning.
The company primarily makes and distributes milk and cottage cheese here.
Employees were told about the closing Tuesday morning. They will be permanently laid off effective Oct. 17 and will not be given bumping rights at other plants, a letter to the city stated.
Schuler said Rochester employees were made aware of open positions in the Dean Foods system and encouraged to apply. “Production will be phased out over the next few months, and approximately 140 positions will be eliminated. We will continue to maintain significant operations in Huntington and Decatur, Indiana, and our products will continue to be available in the region,” Schuler said.
“We regret the impact that this result will have on our employees and our community. The decision to eliminate jobs in any part of our business is never an easy one. This move does not reflect the quality of work performed by our employees but rather reflects the need to remove redundancy in our operations,” he said. Schuler said the company is exploring its options for the Rochester facility.
“We’ll just have to look at that facility and see what we can do there,” said Fulton Economic Development Corp. Director Terry Lee, calling from Kokomo where he was attending a regional economic development meeting.
Rochester lost 90 jobs in early 2014 when Fulton Industries closed. Ten months later the Fulton Industries facility was purchased by American Axle, which said it would be hiring 66 workers and investing $3.5 million dollars in the facility and equipment.
Lee said Indiana Workforce Development will be able to help the employees who lose their jobs with resumé preparation and finding new jobs. He said union officials will help the employees with their unemployment claims. The union is United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy Allied Industrial and Service Workers International.
Tuesday’s Dean Foods announcement was the second in three months. In May, the company laid off 17 employees here, citing a recent customer change.
That happened shortly after Meijer opened a $100 million dairy processing facility for milk, cottage cheese and yogurt at its Tipp City, Ohio warehouse complex.
When Meijer purchased Bareman’s Dairy in Holland Township, Mich., in 2012, Dean Foods’ Liberty facility at Evart, Mich., was shuttered.
Purdue Extension Educator Mark Kepler summed up the effect of the closing with a simple statement: “I think it’s devastating to the community.”
At Tuesday’s city council budgeting session, City Operations Manager Warren Lease said the facility uses about four million gallons of water a month. He estimated a $120,000 annual revenue loss by the water utility and a nearly $300,000 loss in wastewater revenues and surcharges.
Kepler noted Dean Foods has been a good corporate citizen.
“Everybody’s always talking about how great it is to have Deans in our community. A lot of great people, good workers,” Kepler said.
He’s not sure of the impact the plant closing will have on area farmers. Most milk from Fulton County dairy farmers is sold to Foremost Farms, which in turn sells to production facilities like Dean Foods.
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