Rochester AMPI Plant is shutting Down

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - Rochester is losing another longtime business. New Ulm-based Associated Milk Producers Incorporated today announced it is shutting down the AMPI plant along South Broadway on the edge of downtown Rochester.

75 employees of the Rochester plant are affected by the move. The company says it is working with them to provide access to resources, training, and opportunities to apply for available positions at other AMPI plants. The firm also announced its closing plant in Arlington Iowa and the milk processed at both facilities will be routed to other plants in the area including the AMPI cheese plant in Blair Wisconsin.

In announcing the closures, AMPI noted Minnesota has lost 40-percent of its dairy farms and Iowa has lost 50-percent of its dairy operations since 2008.

While the decision affects AMPI's cheese production at the site, milk production will continue.

Kemp's leases a portion of the plant for its milk operations and employs about 200 workers at the site. There is no word on what impact AMPI's decision will have on the Kemp's operation.

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