Ludwig Dairy claims fame in worldwide contest

DIXON – Competing against more than 23 countries, Ludwig Dairy Inc. has earned its standing among international dairy manufacturers.

The family-owned business, which has a plant in Dixon, entered the World Championship Cheese Contest for the first time this year and walked away with first and second place in two of 110 contest categories.

Ludwig Dairy won first place in the drinkable cultured products category, open to all flavors and all milks, for its Kefir smoothie. The drink scored a 99.8 out of 100.

Kefir refers to a fermented mix of milk and kefir grains, which contain probiotic bacteria.

It won second place for flavored low-fat yogurt, open to cow’s milk products, for its strawberry and grains yogurt, scoring 99 out of 100.

The Elk Grove-based company has been in business for about 25 years and moved its dairy manufacturing plant to Dixon in 2001.

“It’s an honor not only to be noticed but to score so high among world-renowned corporations and businesses that have been around for hundreds of years,” manager Maggie Zydek said.

Each month, the Dixon plant receives about 50,000 gallons of raw milk that it pasteurizes and uses to create yogurts, Kefir, fresh white cheese, sour cream, butter, cottage cheese, and quark, which is a soft spreadable cheese.

Ludwig makes most dairy products except for fluid milk, plant general manager Sebastian Gebka said, and it has about 15 employees.

“We use quality ingredients, and we want to put out quality products, that’s our goal,” Gebka said.

Once the products are made and packaged, they are distributed mostly to stores in and around the Chicago area, but its market area spans across northern and central Illinois, southern Wisconsin, and northwest Indiana.

There are no products available in Dixon stores, but it’s something the company might consider in the future, Gebka said. The company also hopes to expand operations at the plant within the next few years.

“We though this would be a great place where we could expand, and it’s not far from our headquarters in Elk Grove,” he said. “Dixon has that small-town feeling, and the government is very small-business-friendly.”

The location, 1309 W. Seventh St., was a dairy manufacturing plant for Dominick’s Finer Food Inc., a chain that had several stores in the Chicago area until a rash of closures in 2013.

Ludwig’s entered the contest in late February, the competition took place in early March, and it was to receive its awards Thursday in Milwaukee.

Entries from 23 countries and 31 states were evaluated during the 3-day competition in Madison.

“There were products from all over the world – Switzerland, Austria, Cuba,” Zydek said. “Seeing who we were competing against, it was amazing to do well our first time entering, especially for us to reach that as a business of 25 years.”

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