Why a Seattle Dairy Group with 100 Tractors is Bringing its Fleet In-House
Darigold, the marketing and processing subsidiary of Northwest Dairy Association (NDA), which is owned by nearly 500 dairy farm families, ships approximately 8.4 billion pounds of milk annually from farms in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana, has announced that it bringing its fleet of approximately 100 tractors and 180 trailers in-house for direct store delivery of finished goods.
According to President and CEO Stan Ryan, “We are making this investment to upgrade our local delivery capabilities and maintain control throughout the value chain. Doing so makes us better equipped to more quickly provide farm-to-market delivery.”Estenson Logistics had been Darigold’s dedicated carrier for finished goods since 2009, until this summer when that company was sold. This presented an opportunity for Darigold to make a strategic decision about the fleet.
The fleet operates out of Seattle and Spokane, Washington; Portland, Oregon; Boise, Idaho; and Bozeman, Montana, where Darigold has processing plants. The company is hiring about 200 employees to conduct delivery of finished goods going forward.
Making this investment, the group explained, “allows Darigold to create a more sustainable supply chain and gain better control over its transportation. The company will maximize utilization of fleet assets and optimize routing and scheduling. Darigold’s professional drivers and modern fleet will provide safe and efficient delivery to customers, who in turn offer fresh dairy products with unsurpassed quality, nutrition and flavor to local consumers.”
Category: News
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