1st Shift Dairy Processor - Kalona Creamery

Are you looking for a great job that's close to home where the pay and benefits are good, the people are GREAT, and the BIG opportunities in our small companies are endless? Join our team!


Open Gates Group is a family of companies located near Kalona, IA. We care about our employees and take pride in our community. To help our community's farmers, we built a creamery and then 10 other food industry related businesses. Today, we help source, produce, sell & transport Midwestern products to 3,500+ stores nationwide. Our dairy products are minimally processed and come straight from Midwest family farms surrounding our creameries.We are currently hiring for a 1st Shift Dairy Production Processor at Kalona Creamery.


Kalona Creamery has a long legacy of producing fresh, squeaky cheese curds and customers come from miles away just to watch their production from our large viewing windows.  The Kalona Creamery Production Processor is responsible for the manufacturing of high-quality food products while meeting safety, quality, and production standards.  This position oversees the setup, operation, packaging, and cleaning of production equipment related to cheese, hummus, and yogurt manufacturing.  Typical shift hours begin at 6am, Monday-Friday, and run until production is complete for the day.

Woman working in dairy production job
What you get...
  • Opportunities to learn skills that can apply to many different industries.
  • Super fun and supportive team members who always have your back.
  • Managers who respect you and listen to your ideas.
  • Career boost by being responsible for many different areas.
  • Great pay and benefits.
  • Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance, STD & LTD after 60 days of employment.
  • Matching 401k after 6 months.
  • Benefit Bonus/Stipend
  • Paid Holidays, Paid Time Off (PTO), & Birthday PTO.
  • Opportunity for advancement.
  • Discounted employee purchases including food and dairy.
  • Unique, entrepreneurial culture!
What you will get to do...
  • Operate production equipment to produce high-quality, consistent food products according to GMP standards.
  • Review daily instruction sheets prior to production
  • Inspect all equipment for cracks, leaks and other causes of contamination
  • Rotate through different job tasks which include testing the acidity of milk and monitoring agitation, temperature, and PH during production.
  • Review daily instruction sheets prior to production.
  • Meet established processing rates.
  • Participate in start-up, changeover, and shutdown of operating equipment.
  • Perform various sanitation and clean-up duties.
  • Maintain quality standards per specifications defined by State and/or Federal regulatory agencies.
  • Stay current with required production technology.
  • Work overtime as needed
  • Uphold, support, and promote all company policies and procedures
  • Perform additional duties necessary to make the business successful.
What you will need...
  • High School diploma or GED equivalent.
  • Cheese or dairy-related production experience is preferred; food manufacturing experience is helpful.
  • Versatile and able to be cross-trained in various production roles.
  • Able to read recipes and follow instructions.
  • Able to read and record instrument data in English with attention to detail.
  • Verbal and written communication skills, specifically legible handwriting.
  • Able to lift, move, and push 55 lbs on a regular basis.
  • Able to perform physical tasks for extended periods of time including: standing, walking, climbing, bending,pushing, pulling and twisting over surfaces.
  • Able to work the scheduled shift, including daily overtime or overtime outside of your regular scheduled hours asrequired (more than 40 hours per week).
  • Adhere to all safety standards and wear all necessary personal protective equipment such as safety shoes,safety glasses, hair/beard net and gloves when required.
  • Able to work with allergens that might be present in a food manufacturing environment
  • Willing and able to adhere to all grooming requirements necessary for a food manufacturing environment.
  • Team oriented with a focus of working in a fast paced, collaborative environment.
  • Good attitude with a high level of integrity and alignment with our mission, vision, values & operating principles.
Print Job Description
Who you'll work with...

Dana is an excellent manager. She always listens with open ears, is understanding, and shows appreciation to her co-workers. Dana makes sure production rooms meet deadlines even if that requires starting shifts early. Her communication with other teams to keep them updated when things don’t go as planned to avoid down time or people waiting on milk is amazing."

Lucy has done wonders with production - including figuring out how to make her team happier and more productive. No matter how big the task or how unexpected the problem, she rolls up her sleeves and gets the job done. Lucy is an incredible listener and will do anything to help you be better. We love working with Lucy!

Sarah helps literally everyone. She’s always a smile to look forward to in the morning! She goes above and beyond all of the time! She is dependable and smart and always makes me feel better just by smiling at me. She is a problem solver and a great worker.

"Open Gates is an amazing place to work!"

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