Babcock’s 2023 Year in Review

This year, the Babcock Dairy Plant saw its first completed renovation since 1951, allowing the facility to run using more modern technology and produce a higher-quality output.

The renovation included the addition of a new high-flow ice cream maker, Human-Machine Interface touch screens, increased freezer and cooler capacity, new deep freezer storage racking, an updated receiving bay, a new Quality Control lab space and new piping, tanks, pumps and valves.

“It was quite a task to take the 1950s Dairy Plant and turn it into a cutting-edge, state-of-the art facility,” Scott Rankin, professor and chair in the Department of Food Science, said. “I want to express my appreciation for what we will accomplish in the next phase. For the many thousands of future students and professionals, I want to say thank you all for helping us achieve this great accomplishment.”

The construction project included nearly 29,000 gross square feet of renovations for the Babcock Dairy Plant and a three-story addition to the Center for Dairy Research.

On April 13, Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin spoke at a grand opening event in Babcock Hall to celebrate the renovated facilities.

“This project shows what we can accomplish when the university, industry and government work together,” Mnookin said.

The State Building Commission gave the final approval for the project’s funding in February 2020. The final budget for the project was $72.9 million, with funding from UW–Madison, the State of Wisconsin and private donors. Over 200 private donors raised over $18 million for the project.

Zimmerman Architectural Studios worked with representatives from the state Division of Facilities Development and UW–Madison to create the architectural plan for the renovations, and Membrane Process and Controls led the construction in the plant. C.D. Smith Construction led the building construction for the project.

With the help of the UW–Madison School of Business’ Small Business Development Center (SBDC), Babcock Dairy is in the process of implementing a comprehensive business plan.

After a year-long process of creating a business plan with an out-of-state consulting firm, store manager Kari Backes and plant manager Casey Whyte turned to the SBDC for help implementing the lengthy plan. The SBDC recruited the help of a student-run organization called Badger Consulting to create suggestions on how to best implement the business plan.

“We are very grateful for Michelle’s help, the SBDC, and the students who helped us,” Backes said. “We were extremely pleased with it, from beginning to end.”

Whyte and Backes met with Ethan Kofman and Mitchell Carroll, student leaders from Badger Consulting, for seven weeks to determine target customers and effective marketing strategies for Babcock cheese and gift boxes.

One such strategy focused on targeting alumni, including alumni businesses. UW–Madison alumni have many memories associated with Babcock Dairy’s brand, making them an ideal target market for gift boxes. Badger Consulting also recommended an increased use of Facebook and LinkedIn to connect with alumni and parents of UW students.

Carrol and Kofman gave pricing recommendations based on similar offerings in the market and suggested an increase in storytelling with marketing content.

“Helping out a UW–Madison business was really exciting for us,” Carrol said. “We all felt very passionate about it because we tried the product — it’s great — and we just wanted to give back, to help them in any way we can… We were honored that they were willing to have us come to give them help.”