New milk plant to employ 19

The creation of a state-of-the-art milk processing plant in Yerington is expected to provide an integral distribution hub for dairymen in the Mason Valley and surrounding areas.

The first phase of Western Dairy Specialties' 35,000-square-foot facility should be finished this fall, but it will take two more years before final buildout, says managing partner Mike Compston. The facility is expected to employ 19 and will primarily serve markets in Nevada, although distribution should eventually expand to bordering states, Compston says.

Compston and co-partners Tom Reviglio, Matt Berry and Roger Ligtenberg considered locations in California, Idaho and Utah but decided on Yerington because of its supply of high-quality milk, its labor force, and the state's central location to serve markets in the West.

The processing plant will have two innovative cost-saving features. Western Dairy will use special gallon and half-gallon milk containers manufactured onsite that alleviate the need for packaging crates, making the large stacks of milk crates often found behind supermarkets a scene of the past.

Additionally, the plant will be able to mechanically package different percentages of milk on the same pallet.

Compston says that the milk will be bottled with a process new to America that ensures a shelf life approaching 120 days. The pasteurization processes employed by traditional milk processors ensure a shelf life of just 16-21 days.

Western Dairy won approval from the Nevada Commission on Economic Development for almost $2 million in tax incentives after promising to invest more than $32 million in Lyon County.

The dairy is expected to be more environmentally friendly than similar operations because its operations should consume less water and produce less sewage discharge.

"The flexibility of manufacturing and packaging makes for an efficient operation," says Larie Trippet, business development manager for the Northern Nevada Development Authority, which worked with the company in its application for state incentives.