The Michigan Milk Producers Association (MMPA), Novi, Mich., said it will acquire Superior Dairy in Canton, Ohio, a subsidiary of LEL Operating Co.

Under the terms of the acquisition, all of LEL Operating Co.’s subsidiaries, Superior Dairy Inc., Creative Edge Design Group Ltd. and LEL Logistics Inc., will become wholly owned subsidiaries of MMPA effective Dec. 31, 2021. Ultimately, the new organization will launch a multi-state dairy manufacturing and innovation campus with four facilities in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana; employ a team of more than 625 individuals; and service dairy farmers across the Great Lakes region, MMPA said.

Building on the strong partnership developed between the two organizations over the years, the acquisition will bring greater innovation, product diversity and efficiencies to the marketplace. With Superior Dairy under its umbrella, MMPA said it will be able to provide a greater focus on go-to market strategies more quickly than operating individually to meet the needs of customers and consumers while continuing to support farmers, employees and other stakeholders.

“MMPA’s relationship with Superior Dairy has accelerated over the last six years, and we have mutually benefitted from our partnership. Bringing Superior Dairy into the MMPA family will enable us to better tap into their wealth of product development experience to bring value added processing capacity for our dairy farmer members,” said Joe Diglio, president and CEO of MMPA.

Both organizations have had long and proud histories of supplying quality milk and milk products to consumers and are strategically aligned on their vision for the future. MMPA is a 106-year-old dairy cooperative, while Superior Dairy was founded in 1922 and will soon celebrate its 100th anniversary. To generate long-term success of both organizations, the agreement provides for the repurposing and reutilization of each organization’s resources and current manufacturing facilities to better serve MMPA and Superior Dairy’s needs more collaboratively, MMPA said.

“Our partnership with MMPA and their members’ exceptional quality milk has been an integral part of our growth. By taking advantage of our combined manufacturing assets, we will continue our trajectory and the opportunities that this collaboration enables,” said Greg Soehnlen, president and CEO of Superior Dairy Inc. and LEL Operating Co.