Oberweis Dairy to close North Aurora, Illinois, plant, risks 127 jobs

Dairy company Oberweis Dairy has unveiled plans to close its plant in North Aurora, Illinois, potentially laying off 127 workers.

The US-based dairy player has been in operations for over a century and specialises in delivering milk, while also operating nearly 40 ice cream and dairy stores in Illinois and Missouri.

The news comes after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Chicago earlier this month. According to media reports, Oberweis notified state officials of the potential job cuts and plant closure under the Illinois Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.

Oberweis Dairy is owned by family members of Republican State Senator Jim Oberweis. The company stated: “At Oberweis, we, like many companies, have been forced to make some very difficult decisions related to the structure of our company. These difficult decisions are always made with full consideration of other options and with an eye towards the best future of our company.”

It continued: “As part of this filing process, it was a necessary legal step to issue a ‘WARN’ notice to employees in the North Aurora location. The intention is to complete the sale of the company through this court-approved process as swiftly as possible.”

Yesterday (Tuesday 23 April) Oberweis announced that it may have found a potential buyer, after receiving a stalking horse bid to purchase its operating assets. The bid came from Brian Boomsma, founder of the Chicago-based company Dutch Farms.

Dutch Farms was founded in 1987 by brothers Brian and Bruce Boomsma and remains a family-owned business whose branded offerings include cheese, eggs, milk, butter and other dairy products.

“We are thrilled to have a business leader like Brian Boomsma interested in investing in Oberweis and enabling the company to continue to move forward and prosper,” Oberweis president Adam Kraber said in a news release. “We continue to be grateful to our loyal customers, vendors, and committed employees who have supported us through this process.”

Oberweis hopes to complete the sale in June 2024.