Irish dairy cooperative, Ornua, completed the acquisition of US cheese ingredients business, Whitehall Specialties Inc. (WSI) for an undisclosed sum from Mason Wells, a private equity firm based in Milwaukee. The acquisition complements Ornua’s US Ingredients division, Ornua Ingredients North America (OINA), and is central to Ornua’s long-term growth strategy in the US cheese ingredients market.
OINA is a leading provider of customized functional cheese solutions for US food manufacturing and foodservice customers.
This acquisition significantly increases OINA’s current position in the US cheese ingredients market, expanding its production footprint to six well-invested facilities across Wisconsin, Minnesota and Pennsylvania. The transaction is central to Ornua’s long-term sustainable growth strategy, unlocking significant advanced capacity and flexibility to support its existing and new customers’ ambitious growth plans.
Outside of the cheese ingredients sector, Ornua is a leading supplier in the US consumer market with its flagship brand, Kerrygold. Kerrygold, Ireland’s only €1 billion food brand, is the number two butter brand in the US and sells 10 million packs each week globally.
About Ornua Ingredients North America OINA custom formulate and manufacture a complete line of pasteurized processed cheese products. With more than 80 years of experience in cheese formulation, OINA delivers functional and nutritional cheese-based ingredient solutions for leading food manufacturing and foodservice customers.
OINA has two production facilities with some of the most advanced dairy processing equipment in the sector including a state-of-the-art innovation center providing functional cheese solutions across the US, Canada, Central and South America.
