USA – Co-operative Land O’Lakes has announced that it is to close its dairy spreads plant in Faribault, Minnesota by the end of the summer.

The factory produces margarine, spreads, flavoured butter, spray-dried dairy products and malted milk products.

The closure is part of Land O’Lakes’ plan to produce all of its foodservice and retail spreads at its plant in Kent, Ohio.

In a statement, Land O’Lakes said it had decided to close the factory after looking at market trends and plant capabilities. The company said that it considered options from outsourcing to consolidation.

Land O’Lakes operations and supply chain vice president Fernando Palacios said: “What we are seeing in spreads is a combination of a basically flat market and excess production capacity.” He added: “Given these market conditions, it is not feasible to operate both the Kent and Faribault plants competitively.” The production capacity of the Kent plant, constructed in 1982, is approximately three times that of the Faribault facility, which was built in 1948.