April 15, 2011
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HIGHLY ACCLAIMED — Adams Reserve has won numerous awards over the years. It is among the cheeses produced by Great Lakes Cheese, one of the nation’s largest cheese companies serving private label, co-branded and foodservice cheese customers.

By Kate Sander

HIRAM, Ohio -— Great Lakes Cheese, one of the nation’s largest cheese companies serving private label, co-branded and foodservice cheese customers, continues to invest and reinvest in its facilities as well as introduce innovative packaging.

Founded more than 50 years ago by Hans Epprecht, who still serves as company chairman, today the company is led by CEO Gary Vanic and the second Epprecht generation of John and Kurt Epprecht and Heidi Eller, with the third Epprecht generation anticipated to follow.

Great Lakes Cheese supplies the nation’s retailers and foodservice operators through seven major facilities across the United States, manufacturing natural cheese as well as packaging product for a wide array of customers.

“Our customers know and depend on the fact that we are continuously working to improve our business,” says Bill Andrews, vice president, retail sales east and foodservice. “They feel confident that they are getting not only the very best quality products, but also competitive pricing. We continue to reinvest in our business and take a very proactive approach to improving our process.”

Great Lakes Cheese manufactures about 165 million pounds of cheese annually and markets a total of about 1.0 billion pounds, working closely with high-quality suppliers.

“Our supply chain and procurement excellence has allowed us to exceed our customers’ expectations, and we strive to maintain that track record,” says Dan Zagzebski, vice president, co-manufacturing and retail sales west.

The company’s own cheese production capabilities also have grown significantly in the past couple of years with the completion of its Adams, N.Y., plant project, which included a rebuild of the facility. This more than doubled the plant’s original production capacity. The plant now has the capacity to process 2.5 million pounds of milk daily and is running close to its intended capacity six days a week, says John Epprecht, vice president, co-manufacturing.

Epprecht says the company tries to run the Adams plant as close to capacity as possible to garner as many efficiencies as possible. With the new plant in Adams, the company also has introduced new high-end dairy proteins, including whey protein concentrate and lactose products, that are doing well in the market, he says.

The plant’s new equipment also provides the company with even greater ability to provide consistency of product, which is essential for the aged cheeses for which the plant is known.

If contests are any indication, quality at the plant is high. The company’s Adams Reserve New York Extra Sharp Cheddar placed first in its Aged Cheddar class at the American Cheese Society’s annual competition this past summer. Cheddar from the plant won gold and silver medals in the “Super” Aged Cheddar class at last year’s New York State Fair as well as the top two spots in the Current Cheddar class. Most recently, the Adams plant’s medium Cheddar won first place in its class at the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest sponsored by the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association.

Adams Reserve New York Extra Sharp Cheddar, the company’s own branded product, is available for retail dairy and deli departments, cheese shops and upscale specialty food stores. For this product, Great Lakes offers its customers a campaign of ads and publicity as well as point-of-sale displays, consumer literature and a consumer website full of gourmet recipes by Celebrity Chef Jonathan Bennett and where-to-buy store listings.

With the Adams plant project completed and product from the plant selling well, Great Lakes Cheese has turned its sights on expanding its Hiram, Ohio, facility.

Originally planning to add approximately 80,000 square feet of warehousing and storage, the company is just now finishing an addition of 126,000 square feet according to Epprecht. The expansion at Hiram focuses on two areas: increased storage of finished goods and increased cold storage space for the additional cheese now coming out of the Adams plant.

In addition, the company has updated its warehouse with modern distribution techniques. Product is fed into the facility via conveyors, and the company has added state-of-the-art racking. A new palletizing system is on order. Additional shipping docks were added as well.

“This completes the plant and lines up raw product capacity and finished goods capacity,” Epprecht says.

“Our goal was to have all of our packaging plants SQF (Safe Quality Foods) certified which has been accomplished (this past year),” Zagzebski adds. “We take great pride that our customers and end cheese users know our history to quality excellence and that trend will continue.”

Great Lakes Cheese bills itself as a one-stop source for its customer’s needs.With one purchase order, customers can fill their dairy cases with natural chunks, natural slices, processed cheeses and a full range of “regular” and “fancy” shreds available in an array of packaging ­— printed flexible film for exact weight packaging, top-resealable film or labeling for random weight packages.

Private label sales opportunities are dependent on the demands of the consumer. At Great Lakes Cheese, the sales department takes the priorities of the customer and works to be a part of providing the tools to meet their needs.

“Each customer that we work with is different depending on how much or how little they want us to be involved in their marketing plan,” Andrews says. “We always work to tailor programs around the specific needs of each individual customer and the markets in which they are servicing.”

One of the company’s strengths is its innovation in the area of rigid packaging. Rigid packaging offers consumer convenience and improved product safety, which is why, despite the economic downturn, the company continues to innovate in this area, Andrews says.

Most recently Great Lakes introduced 10-ounce cracker cuts in the rigid, recloseable container. This new item to the industry includes 30 cracker-size slices. Consumers can grab a few slices for a snack or serve it right on the tray for easy entertaining. The item has been well received, and the company continues to work to find the best ways to bring it to market.

The attraction of the rigid resealable packaging isn’t limited to retail either. This past year the company also introduced a 2-pound size for foodservice. A number of cheese varieties are available for private and branded label in these packages, Epprecht says, including Pepper Jack and Colby Jack.

CMN