EYE ON OPERATIONS

TheAssociated Pressreported that cheese and whey protein processorBongards' Creameries, Bongards, Minn., purchased a formerACH Food Companiesplant in Humboldt, Tenn.AP said the 114,000-sq-ft. facility previously made loaf and shredded imitation cheeses. Bongards expects to produce natural and processed shredded cheeses there by mid-summer, officials said. Bongards also has plants in Bongards and Perham, Minn.

Harvest Time Bread Company, Woodbridge, N.J., said it will invest $4.5 million during the next three years to expand its Mount Airy, N.C. bakery. The company supplies frozen breads and rolls to the foodservice and retail channels. CEO Rich Paolino said Harvest TIme will buy the 70,000 square-foot bakery (which it previously leased), purchase more equipment and add 38 workers. Officials said Harvest Time received a $100,000 performance-based grant from the One North Carolina Fund.

Tennessee Cheesecake Company LLC, West Nashville, Tenn., said it plans by mid-April to move to a larger 10,000-sq.-ft. bakery in Mt. Juliet - into a facility five times the size of the company's present location. A specialist in gourmet cheesecakes and other baked goods, Tennessee Cheesecake supplies national chain restaurants and major foodservice distributors. Owner and President Valerie Wilson said "equipment upgrades and larger production capacity ... will allow us to dramatically increase production capacity and efficiency."