Lactalis plans upgrades at two New York dairy plants

Walton and Buffalo expansion plans

Lactalis USA plans more than $75 million in upgrades at its Walton and Buffalo plants in New York. The projects aim to retain over 800 full-time jobs and create more than 50, with completion expected in 2027.

Walton’s $15 million modernisation will automate and expand Breakstone cottage cheese and sour cream production. Buffalo’s $60 million expansion covers Galbani mozzarella, provolone and ricotta, alongside whey production. Planned equipment includes:

• Six 50,000-pound vats and a cheese belt.
• Separators, silos and a robotic palletizer.

Buffalo’s cheese laboratory will move during remodelling. The project targets another 37 million pounds of mozzarella and provolone annually, plus expanded ricotta capacity. Lactalis’s Buffalo investment commitments total approximately $123 million for 2020–2027. Together, the two plants process more than 800 million pounds of raw milk annually from 236 local dairy farmers.

Culinary development and product testing

Lactalis opened its $2 million Culinary & Sensory Institute in Buffalo in January 2025. Commercial and residential kitchen spaces accommodate equipment used in restaurants and homes. Company chefs host customers there to develop recipes and explore additions to menus and retail offerings.

Sensory panels sample Lactalis products for quality assurance and compare them with competing brands. The institute serves the company’s North American culinary and sensory operations, supporting work across its US dairy portfolio. At the January announcement, Buffalo’s manufacturing operations collected more than 700 million pounds of milk annually from over 150 local dairy farms. The annual Buffalo milk intake and associated farm count apply to that single location; the two-plant figures cover Buffalo and Walton together.

Buffalo’s existing operations

Lactalis has operated in Buffalo since 1992. At the January announcement, its local operations produced more than 280 million pounds of dairy products annually and employed over 700 people across a manufacturing facility and two corporate offices. The South Park Avenue factory’s range included Galbani cheeses, whey powder and Président Brie cutting and wrapping.