Hiland Dairy Foods, Springfield, Mo., announced plans to acquire the ice cream, dairy and water manufacturing assets from Brookshire Grocery Co. as part of its expansion efforts.

“Our main business focus has always been on our retail stores, which our manufacturing plants support. But, with an abundant offering of quality products now available through the supplier community, we were certainly interested when Hiland approached us about buying these plants,” says Brad Brookshire, chairman of the board and CEO for Brookshire Grocery, Tyler, Texas. “This decision made sense on a number of levels, and the assurance from Hiland that they will retain the employees, supply our stores with the same great products and expand the operations at these plants in Tyler confirmed to us that this would be beneficial for the community, employees and both companies.”

“Our history and commitment to economic development in the communities we serve is strong. In that spirit, we are committed to growing these facilities in Tyler by investing capital dollars to expand our production capabilities,” says Gary Aggus, chief executive officer of Hiland Dairy.

This acquisition aligns with Hiland Dairy’s expansion plan into Texas, which began five years ago when the company started supplying dairy products to select markets.