1st Shift Dairy Production - 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 Team Member at Kalona Creamery.


Our 1st Shift Dairy Production Team Member is responsible for setting up and operating processing equipment to process Kalona Supernatural organic dairy products. Typical shift hours are Monday-Friday, beginning at 4am or 6am and ending when production is done 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 bottle, stamp, fill and package finished products.
  • Meet established processing rates
  • Perform various sanitation and clean up duties
  • Review daily instruction sheets prior to production.
  • Inspect all equipment for cracks, leaks and other causes of contamination
  • Maintain quality standards per specifications defined by State and/or Federal regulatory agencies.
  • Cross-train and support team members in various production related tasks.
  • 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.
  • Food manufacturing experience is preferred.
  • Versatile and able to be cross-trained in various production roles
  • 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. She prevents many problems through strong planning. 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 too in the morning! She goes above and beyond all of the time! I cannot express how much I admire her work ethic. 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. My Manager listens to and supports me. When life gets hard they have my back."

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