Agricultural cooperative Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) has struck a deal to purchase two extended shelf-life (ESL) processing plants in the Midwest from Ohio-based dairy products supplier SmithFoods, a company release announced this week.

The facilities in Richmond, IN and Pacific, MO manufacture a range of ESL dairy and non-dairy beverages, as well as ice cream and shake mixes for retail and foodservice customers. Once the acquisition is completed, the locations will be managed by the DFA Dairy Brands division, operating as Richmond Beverage Solutions and Pacific Dairy Solutions.

“There is increasing consumer interest in extended shelf-life dairy products, and this acquisition aligns with our strategy to increase commercial investments and expand our ownership in this space,” Pat Panko, executive vice president of DFA and president of DFA Dairy Brands North, said in a statement. “With the addition of these plants, we have an opportunity to not only grow our customer base, but also create synergies between our other extended shelf-life and aseptic facilities.”

Operations at the plants will not be interrupted during the ownership transition. Existing management teams will continue to lead day-to-day operations at the sites.