History
The organization which would eventually be known as the Galloway Company started out as the George M. Danke Company located near the Brigade. While this facility was functional as a production plant, it needed to be moved its current location on Commercial Street because shippers in Chicago wanted it to be in close proximity to a rail line. In 1927, the current production center, still known as the George M. Danke Company, was constructed at 601 South Commercial Street in Neenah.
The Galloway family became involved with the building in 1932, when Edwin Pierce Galloway, a dairy entrepreneur from Fond du Lac, made an investment in the existing company. Then in 1935, the Danke Company became Neenah Milk Products Company, and after the conclusion of WWII, Ed's sons, John, Ned, and Dick, became involved with his company. By 1955, the Galloway family had completed their acquisition of the Neenah Milk Products Company, and in 1956, it was renamed as the Galloway Company.
The company functioned as both a manufacturer of industrial dairy products as well as a producer of consumer dairy goods until 1967, when consumer goods ceased to be manufactured and the Galloway Company focused all its efforts on creating dairy products like dessert and ice cream mixes for other corporations. Ned Galloway also innovated the milk production process by creating a more effective way to transfer sugar into the factory by using a cone-shaped blender device. Sugar could now be poured from train cars, liquefied, and pumped into the factory via pipes. The Galloways started out their business by creating partnerships with Dairy Queen, and eventually they began to distribute to more businesses such as Culver's and many other corporations throughout the United States.
Throughout its lifetime, the building housing the Galloway Company has undergone approximately 30-40 renovations including its most recent examples in 2014 and 2015. Its most major renovations include the addition of storage silos on the front of the building, and recent remodeling includes the development of newer office spaces. The major changes added to the building covered up sections of the building from previous years. A portion of the building on the north side was used as a store to sell dairy products before the additional silos were added in front of it. The exposed brick walls were covered up to modernize the building with concrete, and all exposed brick inside the factory is now covered to improve sanitation. Galloway still plans on adding more improvements to the area by expanding the building into nearby streets by removing houses. When the railroad behind Galloway was shortened into a spur line, the plant was able to expand onto both sides of the tracks. While the building's infrastructure has been greatly altered, its primary purpose has always remained being a major dairy product manufacturer in Neenah.
The plant has remained in the Galloway family for three generations. The current owners are Tim, Todd, Ted, and Jeff Galloway. Tim is the CEO while Todd is vice president of engineering and oversees production. Today, the company's main outputs are ice cream mix, sweetened condensed milk, and dairy beverage bases, all produced in industrial quantities for other companies. Today, the plant employs 55 Union employees in manufacturing and 40 in management. The number of manufacturing employees used to be higher, but has decreased with greater automation.
For additional information on the Galloway Company and their relationship with Neenah's Dairy Queen, check out the Neenah Historical Society presentation on their YouTube channel. You can find the link here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uJR3eeR0gA&t=217s
The Galloway family became involved with the building in 1932, when Edwin Pierce Galloway, a dairy entrepreneur from Fond du Lac, made an investment in the existing company. Then in 1935, the Danke Company became Neenah Milk Products Company, and after the conclusion of WWII, Ed's sons, John, Ned, and Dick, became involved with his company. By 1955, the Galloway family had completed their acquisition of the Neenah Milk Products Company, and in 1956, it was renamed as the Galloway Company.
The company functioned as both a manufacturer of industrial dairy products as well as a producer of consumer dairy goods until 1967, when consumer goods ceased to be manufactured and the Galloway Company focused all its efforts on creating dairy products like dessert and ice cream mixes for other corporations. Ned Galloway also innovated the milk production process by creating a more effective way to transfer sugar into the factory by using a cone-shaped blender device. Sugar could now be poured from train cars, liquefied, and pumped into the factory via pipes. The Galloways started out their business by creating partnerships with Dairy Queen, and eventually they began to distribute to more businesses such as Culver's and many other corporations throughout the United States.
Throughout its lifetime, the building housing the Galloway Company has undergone approximately 30-40 renovations including its most recent examples in 2014 and 2015. Its most major renovations include the addition of storage silos on the front of the building, and recent remodeling includes the development of newer office spaces. The major changes added to the building covered up sections of the building from previous years. A portion of the building on the north side was used as a store to sell dairy products before the additional silos were added in front of it. The exposed brick walls were covered up to modernize the building with concrete, and all exposed brick inside the factory is now covered to improve sanitation. Galloway still plans on adding more improvements to the area by expanding the building into nearby streets by removing houses. When the railroad behind Galloway was shortened into a spur line, the plant was able to expand onto both sides of the tracks. While the building's infrastructure has been greatly altered, its primary purpose has always remained being a major dairy product manufacturer in Neenah.
The plant has remained in the Galloway family for three generations. The current owners are Tim, Todd, Ted, and Jeff Galloway. Tim is the CEO while Todd is vice president of engineering and oversees production. Today, the company's main outputs are ice cream mix, sweetened condensed milk, and dairy beverage bases, all produced in industrial quantities for other companies. Today, the plant employs 55 Union employees in manufacturing and 40 in management. The number of manufacturing employees used to be higher, but has decreased with greater automation.
For additional information on the Galloway Company and their relationship with Neenah's Dairy Queen, check out the Neenah Historical Society presentation on their YouTube channel. You can find the link here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uJR3eeR0gA&t=217s
Sources
Galloway, Patrick. Personal interview. May 27, 2015.
"History". Galloway Company. Virtual Tech Web Site Design and Promotion, Inc. Web. 23 May 2015.
Galloway, Tim. Personal interview. May 27 , 2015.
Galloway, Patrick. Personal interview. May 27, 2015.
"History". Galloway Company. Virtual Tech Web Site Design and Promotion, Inc. Web. 23 May 2015.
Galloway, Tim. Personal interview. May 27 , 2015.