C.F. Burger Creamery is marking its 100th anniversary while continuing to operate a dairy facility in Detroit. The company says it is the only dairy processing plant still operating within the city limits, a distinction also reported by the Detroit Free Press. The business began in 1926 as a milk-bottling operation, according to its centennial statement: C.F. Burger Creamery.
Plant and workforce
The company says it has invested $12 million in the facility over more than six years. The Detroit Free Press also reported that investment and described the operation as employing about 60 people. In a separate account, C.F. Burger says six employees work in quality-systems roles: C.F. Burger Creamery.
C.F. Burger describes the spending as preparation for additional growth, capacity and efficiency. The available reporting does not specify how the investment was divided among equipment or quantify any resulting change in production.
A relationship that began locally
According to C.F. Burger’s history account, its relationship with McDonald’s began in 1965 with deliveries to restaurants in the area and later expanded to distribution centers from Michigan to the Carolinas: company statement. The supplied reporting does not independently confirm the distribution arrangement.
What the plant makes
The creamery’s listed products include half-and-half, coffee cream, fat-free half-and-half and heavy whipping cream, according to its centennial material. C.F. Burger says the operation has expanded beyond its original bottled-milk business while remaining based in Michigan: C.F. Burger Creamery. The anniversary highlights the company’s history, while its stated focus is on keeping the Detroit facility operating and building future capacity.
Environmental permits and compliance
The available material does not identify which facility-specific environmental permits apply to C.F. Burger Creamery’s Detroit operation or provide its compliance history. More generally, according to Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, environmental permits establish legally enforceable operating conditions and can include reporting, pollution-monitoring and testing requirements.
