Tillamook County Creamery Association (TCCA), the Tillamook, Oregon-headquartered farmer-owned dairy co-op and Certified B Corporation behind the fastest growing family size ice cream brand in the United States, has announced plans to open a manufacturing plant in Decatur, Illinois during late 2024.
The new factory will be TCCA’s first owned and operated manufacturing site outside of Oregon and will be TCCA’s only plant solely dedicated to ice cream production. The co-op also owns and operates two manufacturing facilities in Oregon that are primarily dedicated to cheese production. The Decatur plant will produce ice cream distributed in 48-ounce containers to the retail market as well as three-gallon containers for the foodservice sector.
“Consumer demand for our ice cream has grown exponentially over the past several years,” said Mike Bever, executive vice president of operations. “This new facility is an investment in our continued national expansion plans to bring our products to more customers around the country.”
In addition to a variety of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry offerings, flavors in Tillamook’s extensive premium range include Caramel Swirl, Banana Split, Peaches & Cream, Butter Pecan, Marionberry Pie, Oregon Dark Cherry and Mountain Huckleberry.
The Decatur plant was previously owned by Prairie Farms, which also used the location for ice cream production until closing the facility in early 2022. TCCA will spend the next 18 to 24 months updating the plant to meet Tillamook’s manufacturing quality standards. Once fully operational, the factory is expected to bring approximately 45 new jobs to the local economy.
“Opening this Illinois manufacturing location will enable us to make more of our ice cream closer to the eastern United States, where demand for our ice cream is growing fast. In the last year, we’ve added 1.6 million households and grown ice cream sales nearly 60% in that region,” said Bever.
Tillamook dairy products are currently available in all 50 states across the nation. In addition to ice cream and cheese, the range includes yogurt, butter, sour cream and other items.
