Darigold Inc has invested in its future by bringing its fleet in-house for direct store delivery of finished goods. This strategic change will facilitate better service to customers and an increased focus on connecting local farm families with local consumers of fresh dairy products.
“We are excited to bring this capability in-house, as we will soon celebrate our 100th anniversary and start our next century of business,” said Stan Ryan, president and CEO. “We are making this investment to upgrade our local delivery capabilities and maintain control throughout the value chain. Doing so makes us better equipped to more quickly provide farm-to-market delivery.”
Estenson
The fleet operates out of Seattle and Spokane WA; Portland OR; Boise ID; and Bozeman MT, where Darigold has processing plants. The company is hiring about 200 employees to conduct delivery of finished goods going forward. Darigold drivers will be able to provide a better service experience for customers. The change also includes 100 tractors and 180 trailers.
Making this investment allows Darigold to create a more sustainable supply chain and gain better control over its transportation. The company will maximize utilization of fleet assets and optimize routing and scheduling.
Headquartered in Seattle, Darigold is the marketing and processing subsidiary of Northwest Dairy Association (NDA), which is owned by nearly 500 dairy farm families. NDA members ship about 8.4 billion pounds of milk annually from farms in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. Darigold produces a full line of dairy-based products for retail, foodservice, commodity and specialty markets, and is one of the largest US dairy processors. It operates 11 processing plants throughout the Northwest, processing milk produced by its dairy farm families.
For more information, see www.darigold.com.
