Glanbia is in advanced talks with Dairy Farmers of America, Michigan Milk Producers Association and Foremost Farms USA to create a stand-alone joint venture in the US.
The joint venture will build and operate a new cheese and whey production facility in the state of Michigan.
The new plant is projected to process 3.6 million litres of milk a day.
Under the terms of the deal, it is proposed that 50% of the joint venture will be owned by Glanbia and the 50% balance will be owned by DFA, MMPA and Foremost Farms.
The three US groups would supply all the milk required by the plant while Glanbia would have full responsibility for all commercial, technical and operational aspects of the business.
If the project proceeds as planned, commissioning of the new facility is expected to take place in the second half of 2019.
"Consistent with Glanbia's growth strategy, this proposed venture will build on our position as the number one producer of American style cheddar cheese and simultaneously expand our global position as a supplier of advanced technology whey protein to the nutritional sector," commented Brian Phelan, the CEO of Glanbia Nutritionals said.
"This proposed joint venture is a strategic move by all the partners to benefit from the growing, large scale milk pool in the state of Michigan," he added.
