Dairy State Cheese in Rudolph has been sold. What happens next?

RUDOLPH − Dairy State Cheese has been sold.

The Rudolph-based cheese factory at 6860 State 34, which has been operated by the Moran family for over 70 years, was sold to the Greco family of Bartlett, Illinois, and its Cheese Merchants of America portfolio last month. According to county records, the property sold in January for just over $4.7 million.

According to state files, Dairy State Cheese LLC was registered in December with a principal office listed at 1307 Schiferl Road in Bartlett, Illinois, the home of Greco Reggi Development Corp., a family-owned real estate development company.

Pat Greco, president of the Greco Family Office and legal counsel for its dairy companies, confirmed the sale Friday.

Greco said the Cheese Merchants portfolio is a third-generation family-owned platform that now operates five cheese companies under the leadership of CEO Bob Greco. In addition to Dairy State Cheese, the company's portfolio includes Eau Galle Cheese in Durand, Wisconsin, which specializes in producing hard Italian cheese such as Parmesan, Asiago and Romano; Holmen Cheese in Holmen, Wisconsin, which produces imitation cheese, plant-based cheese and more; Toscana Cheese Co. in Secaucus, New Jersey, which specializes in fresh mozzarella; and Cheese Merchants of America, which is a processing and packaging plant in Bartlett, Illinois.

"With Dairy State, our plan is business as usual," Greco said, adding that all employees and vendors have been informed of the sale.

Greco said Jill Schlagenhaft will remain as vice president of the cheese company, and Mike Haney will continue as plant manager. A new president has been named.

The new owners hope to add shifts and jobs at the plant, Greco said. Dairy State Cheese had already started to ramp up production before the sale was complete by adding Saturday production. "And we'll kind of take it from there," he said.

Greco said local dairy farmers also won't be impacted by the sale, in fact, "we want more milk," he said. "We want to build."

The new owners also plan to continue to operate the retail store, Greco said. "We know how important the store is to the community."

When asked about rumors that the company planned to reduce or stop production of cheese curds at the factory, Greco said eventually they would like to do something other than produce soft American cheeses to diversify the business, but they still are in the integration plans. He reiterated that "for the foreseeable future, it will be business as usual."

Dairy State Cheese has been operating for more than 70 years in Rudolph. The Moran family started a small independent cheese factory in the 1940s, focusing on cheddar cheese and competing with almost 400 other cheese factories across the state.

In 1979, the factory moved into a new and expanded facility with modern equipment that allowed the cheesemakers to produce more cheese daily. The cheese factory opened a store in the 1950s and added on a few additions to the property.

In 2006, Dairy State Cheese received the Heart of Wisconsin Business & Economic Alliance’s Business of the Year award because of its strong role and community support in Rudolph.

Multiple attempts by Daily Tribune reporters to reach the Moran family to discuss the sale were unsuccessful.

"The deal just closed and this is a work in progress," said Barry Gurewitz, vice president of marketing for Cheese Merchants of America. "We really want to grow that facility. We are going to expand."

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Editor Jamie Rokus can be reached at jrokus@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter at @Jamie_Rokus. Contact Caitlin at cshuda@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @CaitlinShuda.

This article originally appeared on Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune: Dairy State Cheese in Rudolph has been sold. What happens next?