CONTINENTAL DAIRY FACILITIES - Key Persons
Bruce has worked for Continental Dairy Facilities since December of 2012 and currently serves as the Director of Finance. A CPA, Bruce has over 30 years of experience in accounting and finance. During his career, Bruce has worked in a variety of industries, including a combined 17 years of previous work for companies in the food production industry. Bruce studied at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Ml where he received a Bachelor's of Economics degree. Bruce enjoys spending time with his family (especially his grandkids), golfing and biking in his spare time.
Bryan Hoekstra is the Business Analyst Manager at Continental Dairy Facilities, LLC. He began his career at CDF in 2011 after attending Calvin College. He currently lives in Zeeland, Michigan with his wife and 3 Children. Bryan enjoys spending time with his family, golfing, and fishing.
Chance joined Continental Dairy Facilities in December 2011 after serving 9 years of active duty in the United States Coast Guard as an Electrician's Mate. During his time with U.S.C.G. he received many awards while maintaining a variety of systems from facilities and ships to lighthouses. He currently lives in Ravenna with his children, while still serving in the reserves as a Senior Chief. In his spare time, Chance enjoys spending time with his children and doing anything outdoors.
Job Titles:
- Director of Sales and Marketing
Cheslie joined Continental Dairy Facilities in May 2011, after graduating from Grand Valley State University with a degree in Criminal Justice. Continental Dairy has provided Cheslie with the opportunity to learn multiple areas within the company, allowing her to gain valuable experience in logistics, marketing, and information technology. Cheslie currently oversees Sales and marketing for Continental Dairy Facilities, Continental Dairy Facilities Southwest and Select Butter & Packaging. She lives in Spring Lake and enjoys spending her spare time with her husband and 4 kids.
David Liikala is the FSQA Manager at Continental Dairy Facilities, LLC. David spent over 11 years in production and production management with Continental Dairy Facilities, LLC before becoming the FSQA Manager. He enjoys outdoor activities such as golf and salmon fishing. He lives locally in Allendale with his wife and daughter.
Job Titles:
- Division Environmental Health & Safety Manager
Derrick is the Division Environmental Health & Safety Manager at Continental Dairy Facilities, LLC and manages EHS related responsibilities for facilities located in Coopersville, MI and Littlefield, Texas. He has been with the company since 2011. He graduated from Grand Valley State University with a B.S. degree in Occupational Health and Safety Management. Derrick has diverse safety and health experience working in food processing, metal stamping, surgical product manufacturing, concrete precast formation, and tree trimming industries. Derrick is from West Michigan and currently resides in Coopersville with his wife and two boys. He's spends most of his free time coaching youth sports and enjoying outdoor recreational activities in northern Michigan.
Dustin Sarber is the Engineering Manager at Continental Dairy Facilities, LLC. He has been with the company since June 2011, prior to the start of production in March 2012. He's been in the automation field for 14 years in the automotive and office furniture industries. Dustin has attended Grand Rapids Community College focusing on industrial automation as well as successfully completed many classes from Rockwell Automation. He is a lifelong native to the Grand Rapids area, and enjoys hunting, fishing, and spending time outdoors.
Henry Owsiak is the Warehouse Manager at Continental Dairy Facilities, LLC. He has been with the company since January 2013. Continental Dairy has provided Henry with the opportunity to learn multiple areas within the company, allowing him to gain valuable experience in Logistics and Warehousing. He currently lives in Grand Haven with his family. In his spare time, Henry enjoys hunting, fishing and spending time with his family.
A California native with 22 years of dairy experience, Jeff moved to Michigan in 2011 to continue growing his career in Dairy Manufacturing Operations. He is currently Continental Dairy Facilities, Director of Operations. Jeff is responsible for the Michigan Continental Dairy Facilities plant and the Texas Continental Dairy Facilities Southwest plant. Jeff started his career in 2001 working for California Dairies Inc. the second largest milk marketing cooperative in the U.S. His career there spanned 10 years starting out as a milk receiver and ending as the Assistant Plant Manager; overseeing the daily operations of one of the largest drying facilities in the nation. Jeff's experience ranges in operations with a vast knowledge in Evaporation, Drying, UF/RO and Butter. He is a very motivated individual who enjoys work, golf, fishing, and spending quality time with his family.
Jennifer Domanski is the Operations Manager responsible for the Michigan Continental Dairy Facilities plant and the Texas Continental Dairy Facilities Southwest plant. Jennifer started with the company in May 2012 and graduated in 2019 from South Dakota State University with her bachelor's degree in Dairy Manufacturing. She lives in Grand Rapids and in her free time she enjoys spending time with family and friends.
Job Titles:
- Environmental Health and Safety Supervisor
Josh joined the Continental Dairy team in 2014 as the part-time weekend Wastewater Technician while he was attending Grand Valley State University where he graduated in 2014, with a degree in Natural Resource Management. He later became the Environmental Specialist after graduating and in 2020, he was promoted to Environmental Health and Safety Supervisor.
Josh lives in Grand Haven and enjoys all things outdoors. Whether it's camping or hiking in the middle of the woods or paddleboarding in the summer and snowboarding in the winter. You can find Josh enjoying the great outdoors whenever he gets a chance to.
Josh Harkema joined Continental Dairy in February 2012. He started out as a milk receiver and progressed quickly to trainer, eventually learning all operator positions in the company. With a mechanical background, he then moved to the maintenance department where he has advanced to his current role. Josh also serves in the US Army Reserve. Between his civilian and military careers, he has over 20 years experience in leadership, maintenance, project management, root cause analysis, and negotiation. Josh enjoys the outdoors and spending time with his grandkids.
Mykala Snyder joined Continental Dairy Facilities in June of 2015. She graduated from Davenport University with a bachelors in Business Management. Leveraging her knowledge and expertise to drive growth in her role as a sales manager. She manages sales for all bulk commodities. With a strong passion for sales and marketing, she continues to forge valuable partnerships with our customers. Beyond her professional life, she finds joy in her role as a mother and wife. She lives in Grand Rapids with her husband and three girls. Mykala enjoys spending quality time with her family, golfing, and sunshine.
Nathan joined Continental Dairy Facilities in April of 2023. He has over 20 years of technical experience in Linux system administration, database and knowledge management systems. Outside of his professional life, technology is his passion. Nathan writes articles and technical documents concerning various open-source projects and vintage technologies. He is also a podcaster for the TuxDigital network discussing Linux and open-source technology.
Job Titles:
- Adjunct Professor at Grand Valley State University
- Directory of Food Safety, Education & Technical Services
Ron is an adjunct professor at Grand Valley State University teaching a 5-week class on Food Safety. Ron currently serves as an official lead butter judge to the Collegiate Dairy Products Evaluation Contest, as a member of the Scientific Committee for the National Conference for Interstate Milk Shippers (NCIMS), as a Subject Matter Expert for DMI's Innovation Center Plant Food Safety Workshops, as a member on the 3-A Sanitary Standards Steering Committee, and as a member of the American Dairy Products Institute (ADPI) Training, Education and Development Committee.
Sherri Gereaux has been with Continental Dairy Facilities since January 2014 and currently holds the role of Human Resources Manager. She has a Bachelor of Business Degree with concentration in Human Resource Management from Baker College. She is a dedicated Human Resources Manager with several years of combined experience in Human Resources, Business Management, Accounting and Executive Administration. Sherri oversees the company's recruiting, employee relations, workforce planning, onboarding, employee benefits, and compensation management.
Job Titles:
- President / General Manager of Dairy Manufacturing Operations
Steve is currently the President and General Manager of Dairy Manufacturing Operations for Continental Dairy Facilities, LLC in Michigan and for Continental Dairy Facilities Southwest, LLC in Texas. Both are wholly owned subsidiaries of Select Milk Producers Inc. When he joined the company in 2009, he was involved in the business development and design of the plant in Michigan and later with the Texas plant which started operations in 2019. The plants produce nonfat dry milk, condensed milk, cream, butter, and buttermilk powder.
Steve brings 49 years of experience in the dairy industry to his role at Continental Dairy. He grew up in Southern California where he was first exposed to the dairy industry by milking cows. While attending college he worked for California Milk Producers, Dairyman's Cooperative Creamery Association and Foremost Dairies. He started his career after graduation with Sonoma Cheese Factory as the Assistant Plant Manager for a period of 3 years. He then went to work for California Milk Producers which, after merging with two other cooperatives, became California Dairies, Inc. - the second largest milk marketing cooperative in the U.S. His career there spanned 22 years starting as a Plant Supervisor and progressing to Vice President of Operations over 3 of the Cooperative's processing facilities. During his career at CDI Steve was responsible for plant operations, marketing, and logistics as well as the design and commissioning of numerous dryers, evaporators, ultrafiltration, and butter operations.
He graduated from Mt. San Antonio College with an Associate Science degree in Dairy Science and has a B.S. degree in Dairy Processing Technology from California State University - Fresno.
Steve Lautenbach is the Controller at Continental Dairy Facilities, LLC. He graduated from Grand Valley State University with a master's degree in accounting. Steve has 10 years of accounting experience in both the Public and Private sectors. Steve is from the Grand Rapids, Michigan area and currently lives there with his wife and 2 daughters.