Milk Specialties Global (MSG), a manufacturer of nutritional ingredients for the health and wellness, performance nutrition, and functional food industries, has acquired the 96,000-square-foot, gluten-free certified Kay’s Processing facility, located in Clara City, Minnesota, along with the Kay’s Naturals consumer brand.

Milk Specialties Global plans to expand operations at the Clara City facility to accommodate demand for extruded protein products, which are used for a wide variety of applications ranging from snacks to meat alternatives. To ensure business continuity, the facility’s current employees have received offers to remain with the facility, and additional jobs will be created in the future to support production expansions.

“There is a lot of potential to ramp up production and increase capacity at our new Clara City facility, including more co-manufacturing,” says MSG Vice President of Extrusion Technology and Strategy Jim Fischer. “This acquisition will expand our extruded protein capabilities and help us better meet the needs of our customers.” 

The Clara City plant is part of MSG’s long-term expansion strategy

The newly named Milk Specialties Global Clara City Facility is MSG’s 11th plant, and the latest in a series of strategic acquisitions and expansions that began in 2008. Most recently, in 2020 the company doubled its lactose production following expansion of its west coast processing facility in Visalia, CA. Earlier this year, MSG completed a capital improvement project at its Fond Du Lac, WI facility to begin production of lactoferrin, signaling the launch of its NutriPRO line of products focusing on the health benefits of whey protein.

“MSG has one of the best protein supply chains in the world and great infrastructure for producing high-quality products,” says MSG CEO David Lenzmeier. “With each investment, we can offer more value for our customers.”

Additional information about Milk Specialties Global, including the benefits of its proprietary processing methods and expanding ingredient portfolio, can be found on www.milkspecialties.com.