LE MARS, Iowa | A $20 million expansion underway at Wells Enterprises Inc. figures to strengthen the city of Le Mars' claim as the "Ice Cream Capitol of the World."
Wells, the maker of the Blue Bunny brand, is building a 65,000-square addition to its ice cream plant on the south end of the city of about 10,000. The addition will create space for another production line and position the family-owned and operated business for future growth.
"With an increased demand for our products it was necessary to look at our current capacity, as well as future needs to continue to provide our customers and consumers with quality ice cream products," said Ramin Ghaffari, Wells' vice president of operations, Wells Enterprises, Inc. "The most efficient way to do that was to expand our South Ice Cream Plant, which has seen numerous expansions since it was built in 1992."
People are also reading…
The expansion come as the Northwest Iowa company continues its quest to become the undisputed king in the U.S. ice cream industry by 2020.
The Northwest Iowa company is now a solid No. 3, with more than $1 billion in revenues per year.
In 2006, Wells sold its milk and yogurt holdings to focus exclusively on ice cream and frozen novelties. The Blue Bunny brand has rapidly gained market share since then, but sales are still behind the industry behemoths -- international food and nutrition conglomerates Nestle and Uilevar, which combine to control more than half of the domestic ice cream business.
To dethrone, the beheamoths, Wells likely would need to more than double its annual revenues to $2.2 billion annually.
Blue Bunny products are found in all 50 states. The company continues to make inroads in expanding its presence in retail channels, where Blue Bunny ice cream are now sold in about 51 percent of the country, and novelties in about 62 percent.
The rising demand contributed to a need for more production capacity.
Construction of the addition on the north side of the South Ice Cream Plant, 1191 18th St., is scheduled for completion in June, Ghaffari said. The plant, which boasts 1 million square feet of space and 37 production lines, produces packaged ice cream, frozen novelties and frozen dessert cakes.
Wells' North Ice Cream plant, located downtown, was built in 1950. Covering 153,292 square feet, the plant's 13 production lines produce packaged ice cream and frozen novelties.
The company operates a third ice cream plant in St. George, Utah.
Combined, the plants produce 150 millions of gallons of ice cream per year.
All of the ice cream that rolls off production lines in Le Mars is stored in a 12-story automated freezer adjacent to the South plant. The city-block long freezer maintains a temperature of 20 degrees below zero, and holds 53,000 pallets of ice cream, making it one of the world's coldest and largest freezers.
The additional line at the South plant is expected to create 10 new jobs. Wells is the dominant employer in Le Mars, with more than 2,000 employees, or the equivalent of one of every four residents in the Plymouth County seat.
Wells, whose corporate offices are in a separate complex on the southern end of Le Mars, turned 100 years old in 2013. To celebrate the milestone, the privately-held, family-owned company partnered with the national Make-A-Wish Foundation to grant 100 wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses.
The dairy was founded in 1913 in Le Mars when Fred H. Wells bought a horse, wagon and milk route for $250. The Blue Bunny brand was born in 1935 after Wells and his brother, Harry, sponsored an ice cream naming contest in the Journal.
