Dairy Foods loves touring dairy plants, seeing firsthand how products are made and watching the large stainless-steel equipment precisely making, filling and palletizing products. In the case of Neenah, Wis.-based Galloway Co., we go “Inside the Plant” to learn more about their $70 million, 41,000-square-foot expansion and the star of the show, its new fully automated, multi-effect evaporator.

Installed and running since January, the evaporator dramatically increases efficiency while saving energy, says Galloway President and CEO Kevin Beauchamp.

In use since 1987, the current evaporator will continue to fulfill customer demand. Over its lifespan, the older evaporator has gone through many updates and modernizations, making it just as capable as its newer counterpart.

Galloway Co. brings in on average 1.5 million pounds of milk a day to provide concentrated specialty ingredients to customers nationwide. These include dairy dessert mixes, offered through its subsidiary, Classic Mix Partners.

As the largest manufacturer of frozen dairy dessert mixes in Wisconsin, the ice cream mixes are distributed nationwide to quick-service restaurants and the scoopable dairy dessert trade.

“We sell our ice cream mixes, which go out in liquid form, to the some of the largest, frozen custard restaurants in the country,” he explains. “If you buy a soft-serve ice cream cone in Wisconsin, it’s a good chance it was made with our product.”

“The new, multi-effect evaporator is fully automated with the newest technology where an operator simply punches in the needed ingredients to churn out customized formulas of sweetened condensed milk,” Beauchamp notes. “It’s 150% larger than the ‘old’ evaporator and will enable us to go from making 100 million pounds to producing 250 million pounds of sweetened condensed milk a year. We believe this is the largest capacity in the country if not the world.”

Galloway also develops high-quality, flavorful cream liqueur bases. On the day Dairy Foods visited, we sampled a Coffee & Cream ready-to-drink, an Orange Creamsicle and a Cherry Chocolate Wine-Based Cream. Found in about 50% of the cream liqueurs on liquor store shelves in the U.S., what sets Galloway liqueur bases apart from the rest is “that they’re made with Fresh Wisconsin Milk,” Beauchamp says.

From the original three intake bays that have been on the site since 1933, Galloway Co. brings in 1.5 million pounds of fresh milk a day from four cooperatives within a 100-mile radius, Beauchamp adds.

From start to finish, it took two-and-a-half years to design and build the 41,000-square-foot addition, bringing the Galloway Co.'s total plant capacity to 166,000 square feet. The plant runs 24/7, 365 days a year because “you can’t shut the cows off,” says Beauchamp, laughing.

Additionally, the company specializes in manufacturing non-alcohol beverage bases crafted to deliver consistent flavor, texture and quality, making them the ideal choice for manufacturers looking to create distinctive beverages that stand out in the market.

For example, customers may want to use an acidified dairy beverage base in an energy drink with a whipped strawberry flavor. “We can combine the creaminess of dairy with an acidic product so it doesn’t curdle,” explains fourth-generation owner Annika Galloway, who heads up communications and public relations. “Our bases are used in smoothies and juices to give beverages a little more body.”

Regardless of the products produced, delighting its customers is what the family-owned company strives for each and every day. Mike Hasler, director of industrial ingredient sales, puts it simply: “Our goal is to delight our customers so they can delight theirs — the consumer,” he says.

The inner workings of the multi-effect evaporator

The largest part of the company’s portfolio is the production of its industrialized sweetened condensed milk for usage in the confectionery, bakery, beverage, ice cream topping and variegate businesses, and pumpable syrup industries. The ingredient is sold in five-gallon pails, 275-gallon totes and 5,000-gallon tanker trucks, the CEO tells us during the plant tour.

“About 60% of our sweetened condensed milk leaves in a tanker truck,” he notes. “If you think of the largest candy manufacturers, the largest pie manufacturers in the country — that’s where our product goes.”

Hasler reiterates: “We are the largest bulk supplier of sweetened condensed milk in the United States, but over the last four years, we’ve seen growing constraints from the bakery and confectionary markets, with extended lead times and maxed-out production capabilities.”

The new evaporator will build redundancy into the production process, minimize service interruptions, and foster greater customization, he states. “We now have the capacity to make 60 different formulations of sweetened condensed milk in a week,” Hasler explains. “With the push of a button, our operators can run at different times, different temperatures, different pressures to gain the high-quality output that our customers expect.”

An engineer by trade, Beauchamp joined the specialty dairy product manufacturer in 2005 as a process control engineer, was promoted to engineering manager before being named Galloway Co.’s chief operating officer in 2017. In May of 2020, he succeeded the retiring Greg Pollesch as president, and in 2024, assumed the top position from Tim Galloway, Annika’s dad who retired on his 70th birthday after 45 years in sales and leadership positions.

Upon his retirement, Pollesch praised Beachamp’s strong work ethic and determination. “In his 14 years with our engineering and operations teams, Kevin has proven his leadership skills. He's led our continuous process and cost-savings improvements, and capital projects focused on plant expansions and profit enhancement with great skill,” Pollesch said.

His engineering prowess on full display, Beauchamp describes how the high-efficient, multi-effect evaporator works.

“The first effect, a giant pipe that goes up 65 feet. Inside the pipe, there are 65 smaller pipes,” he explains. “The milk is pumped to the top and flows down the center of the smaller pipes. Outside of the pipes is steam — the steam essentially boils off the water from the milk on the inside of it. The milk falls to the bottom and flows into each of the effects beyond that.

“On the back side, the milk leaves at up to 76% solid — you can stick a spoon in it, it stands right up,” he continues. “This is our unbelievably fresh and delicious sweetened condensed milk.”

(See the “Inside the Plant” video for more insights.)

From a sustainability perspective, the upgraded system includes high-efficiency motors and precision-engineered valve systems, with a fully automated homogenization process, advanced lactose seeding technologies and a state-of-the-art cooling system. It also minimizes energy consumption and reduces environmental impact.

A family legacy poised for the future

Founded in 1956, the fourth-generation Galloway Co. evolved from making butter, cheese and other dairy products to being a premier supplier of concentrated specialty ingredients that its customers use in their products.

Yet, to appreciate the changes the nearly 70-year-old fluid dairy processor has undergone, Annika Galloway takes Dairy Foods on a journey through its history, culture and dedication to blending tradition and innovation to create exceptional dairy ingredients for businesses around the globe.

The company rose from humble beginnings dating back to the 1800s in Fond du Lac, Wis. A small group of dairy farmers, including visionary, Edwin P. Galloway, passionately farmed the land and cared for the cattle eventually breeding them. Interestingly, Ed’s Brown Swiss cow, Gloria, set a record for the highest milk production at the 1939 New York World’s Fair.

With an eye for business, Ed purchased an interest in Neenah Milk Products in 1932 and continued to serve Wisconsin the finest door-to-door dairy service, providing families with high-quality milk, cottage cheese, sour cream, ice cream mixes and sweetened condensed milk.

Nearly 25 years later, Ed and his three sons, Ned, John and Dick, fully acquired the business and renamed it Galloway Co., establishing an enduring family legacy. Ed wrote a book, “I’d Hoot Him on the Pot” about his life, marriage and the homestead he farmed. Today, the Historic Galloway House and Village is available for tours run by the Fond du Lac County Historical Society.

Ramping up bulk ingredient production

After acquiring Neenah Milk Products, Galloway’s strategic vision evolved.

With the leadership of third-generation owners Tim and his brothers, Ted and Pat, who still manage the frozen dairy dessert business, and Tod, the VP of Engineering, Galloway Co. continued expanding and investing in its concentrated specialty ingredients’ business. Under the third-generation’s leadership, the company grew from about 60 employees to over 150 today.

“This new evaporator was really my father’s dream. My dad serviced the sweetened condensed customer base for many years and he always dreamed of being able to service anyone in the market,” Annika Galloway says. “It’s a full-circle moment. This expansion is such a great example of the investment we make in our people, our communities and our customers.

“For me, to be able to continue my father’s legacy — to always serve the customers and their needs — is really just a joy.”

CEO Beauchamp adds: “Galloway Co. focuses on hard-to-make, innovative, niche products, and we have a passion for getting it right, being nimble and flexible. I try to lead by example and want to empower our team (some 155 strong) to help create a strategic vision for Galloway Company’s success by listening, communicating and delivering the finest products.” DF