The story
Founding
The company was founded in 1984 by 12 families located in Hilmar, California; it began production in 1985. Hilmar Ingredients, a division of Hilmar Cheese Company, was founded in 2004 to market the company's whey products to the world. It currently produces over half a million pounds of whey protein and lactose per day and ships to over 40 countries worldwide.
Expansion
In 2007, Hilmar Cheese opened a cheese and whey protein processing plant in Dalhart, Texas. This plant is the company's first processing plant outside its Hilmar, California, facility and corporate headquarters.
In 2014, Hilmar Cheese opened a milk powder processing plant in Turlock, California. This plant is the company's second processing plant outside its Hilmar, California, facility and corporate headquarters. On April 17, 2019, Hilmar Cheese entered into an agreement with California Dairies, Inc., to sell its Turlock milk powder processing plant.
Ribbon-cutting on the more than $600 million Dodge City, Kansas manufacturing facility was held in March of 2025.
From Wikipedia’s article on Hilmar Cheese Company, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5