Lake Country Foods in Oconomowoc to close in March, resulting in loss of 91 jobs

Lake Country Foods in Oconomowoc plans to shut down in March resulting in the loss of 91 jobs, according to a notice filed Tuesday with state regulators.

The company is a contract manufacturer serving "a wide variety of customers in the dry powder, sports nutrition, general nutrition and meal replacement markets," according to Lake Country Foods' website.

Among the products it makes is malted milk powder.

The company's facility at 132 S. Concord Road was formerly owned by Nestle Beverage Co., "and prior to that was the flagship plant for the Carnation Instant Products division," according to the website. Lake Country Foods took over operations of the plant in 1998. 

Gregory Gill Sr., an Appleton attorney who represents and serves as spokesman for Lake Country Foods, said operating the 100-year-old plant was no longer economically feasible, and building a new plant would have been too expensive for the company to undertake. 

Some of the affected workers are represented by Teamsters Local 695 in Madison, as well as the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 10 in Milwaukee.

The plant will cease operations on March 15.