The Kansas-based dairy cooperative that is closing the historic Guida-Seibert milk processing plant in New Britain said Tuesday that it will keep supplying milk to customers, which include Stop & Shop, Key Foods and Price Chopper, among others.
Dairy Farmers of America is putting more than 200 employees out of work when it shuts down its New Britain processing and storage plants by the end of August, but will supply customers with its Garelick Farms-branded milk and other products from other facilities, it said.
“Milk currently received at the New Britain plant will continue to be processed within DFA’s network, and customers will continue to be served without disruption,” DFA said in a statement Tuesday.
“DFA has shared with us that members currently sending milk to New Britain will be processed at other DFA plants and they are presenting options to independent producers,” state Agriculture Commissioner Bryan Hurlburt said. “We stand ready to provide assistance as needed to ensure impacted producers have an outlet to sell their product.”
NEW BRITAIN, 2011 GUIDAS – SuperCow is the official mascot of Guida’s Milk and Ice Cream in New Britain, Connecticut. PATRICK RAYCRAFT | praycraft@courant.com
DFA gave no specific reason for leaving the nearly 5-acre facility on New Britain’s East Side. Raw milk is trucked to the plant daily, and workers pasteurize milk and package it along with related products that are then distributed by a fleet of more than 150 trucks.
“The plant has been part of the New Britain community for many years, and this was not a decision made lightly. The decision reflects changes needed to best serve our farmer-owners and customers,” DFA said.
Mayor Bobby Sanchez lamented the shutdown.
“This closure is not just the loss of a business, it is the loss of a piece of New Britain history,” Sanchez said. “We are grateful to the Guida family and to every employee, past and present, who helped make this company such an important part of our community for so many years.”
Even though the Guida name was still prominent on enormous storage tanks and delivery trucks, the longtime family-owned company was folded into DFA’s nationwide network of milk companies when it was acquired in 2012.
Guida’s until then had been one of Connecticut’s top independent dairies, producing milk, cream, ice cream, fruit juices and other dairy products since being founded in 1932 by Frank and Alexander Guida Jr.
NEW BRITAIN, CT – 6.21.2011 – GUIDAS – Guida’s Milk & Ice Cream in New Britain is the 69th largest dairy in the country. PATRICK RAYCRAFT | praycraft@courant.com ORG XMIT: B581356994Z.1
The Park Street plant began as the Seibert Dairy in 1884, and was purchased later by the Guida brothers and renamed the Guida Seibert Dairy Co.
For decades the company supplied a substantial amount of the milk sold in school cafeterias around the state, and until 2001 operated an ice cream stand on Farmington Avenue in New Britain. Supercow, its cow-as-heroine mascot, was known around the state.
Around the time of the sale, Guida’s put out a promotional video emphasizing a history of employee loyalty.
“We do have great employee retention. Once people come on board they rarely leave,” then-President Michael Young said in the video.
“Say a quarter of our people have been here for 10 years plus, and some have been 20 years and some have been 30 years,” then-Executive Vice President James Guida said. “If you can’t keep your employees happy obviously you aren’t going to run a very efficient business.”
The roughly 120,000-square-foot Park Street facility employs day and night shifts, and currently has 11 open positions listed on ziprecruiter.com ranging from general laborer to lab technician and fleet mechanic.
“We are grateful to the New Britain team for their hard work and dedication, and this decision is not a reflection of their performance,” DFA said in a statement.
Sanchez said the city will try to help the 205 people losing jobs.
“These hardworking employees helped build Guida’s and now face real uncertainty. The city is working directly with the Connecticut Department of Labor and workforce development partners to connect affected workers with job placement assistance, retraining opportunities, and other available support services during this transition,” he said.
The Guida-Seibert Dairy in New Britain.
“Unfortunately, this closure reflects a much larger national trend impacting manufacturers, dairy producers, and family-owned businesses across the country,” he said. “Companies like Guida’s are being squeezed by rising fuel and energy costs, inflation, supply chain disruptions, workforce shortages, and economic policies coming out of Washington that have made it increasingly difficult for regional producers to compete and grow.”
Only a month ago, the General Assembly approved $22.5 million in aid for Connecticut dairy farmers. Most of it was directed to modernization grants, and it also created a dairy council to recommend long-term strategies for shoring up the state’s struggling dairy industry.
Senate Republicans at the time argued that “unaffordable” Connecticut policies are making it harder for dairies to survive, warning “Once those farms are gone, they’re gone for good. You cannot rebuild a farm.”