Modesto-based dairy processor joins pantheon of green-minded companies in California
Crystal Creamery of Modesto has joined the California Green Business Network thanks to recycling, water conservation and other efforts.
The company celebrated with a Tuesday morning gathering at its Kansas Avenue plant. It has 485 of the nearly 1,000 employees around the state.
Crystal uses energy-efficient machinery to put milk in cartons and jugs and in making ice cream, butter, sour cream and many other items. It has reduced water and energy use on the dairy farms. It recycles cardboard and plastic and generates power with dairy byproducts and solar panels.
“We always like to say we nourish the communities with all of our products,” said Dennis Roberts, president and chief executive officer. “But we also like to be good stewards of it, too.”
The network operates under the California Environmental Protection Agency. The Modesto Chamber of Commerce manages the Stanislaus County portion.
Crystal is the 14th local site to be certified, said Jolene Camarena, the program coordinator for the chamber.
“Crystal Creamery has set a high standard of what operating businesses sustainably means,” she said.
The honoree is the largest family-owned dairy processor in the state. The Modesto operation was founded in 1941 as Foster Farms Dairy by the same family that started the poultry business by that name in 1939.
The dairy company acquired Crystal Creamery of Sacramento in 2007 and adopted its brand name in 2010. It purchased Humboldt Creamery, an organic operation near Eureka, in 2009.
The other local members of the network are:
- The Cooper Co., a property manager in Modesto
- CHG Structural, an engineering firm in Modesto
- Blue Diamond Growers almond plants in Salida and Turlock
- Pizzeria Halt in Modesto
- Repsco, which makes plastic sheets for material handling in Riverbank
- Audi Modesto
- Echo Media Photography of Modesto
- Serotonin Creative Consultancy, a public relations firm in Modesto
- The Farmacy restaurant in Modesto
- New Bridge Management, a Turlock-based property manager
- Valley Milk, which produces powdered milk in Turlock
- The chamber itself out of its J Street offices.
This story was originally published April 1, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
