Private | |
Industry | Food |
Founded | 1892 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
Founder | Frank B. Baldwin |
Headquarters |
Burlington, New Jersey, United States |
Area served
|
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York |
Key people
|
Laurence E. Bowes (CEO) |
Products | Dairy |
Website | http://www.balford.com |
Balford Farms is an American dairy company located in Burlington, New Jersey. It is the oldest privately-owned and operated independent distributor of dairy products in the Lehigh Valley region.
Along with their own brands, Balford Farms sells and distributes products from other dairy companies including Lehigh Valley Dairy Farms, Swiss Premium, Dannon, Yoplait, Hershey's, Tropicana and International Delight.
Balford Farms was founded in 1892 by a teenager named Frank B. Baldwin, using a horse and wagon to deliver milk to customers throughout Philadelphia, Pennsylvania after school. As his business grew, father Edgar A. Baldwin helped with the management of day-to-day operations and expanded the business into a profitable company called Baldwin Dairies.
In 1965, Baldwin Dairies merged with Frankford Dairies of Philadelphia to become Baldwin-Frankford Dairies, Inc. George H. Baldwin, Sr. and John Baldwin, grandsons of Frank B. Baldwin, changed the name to Balford Farms in 1972.
Expansion of Balford Farms continued in 1980 with the purchase of a 70,000 ft² (6,503 m²) warehouse in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. Over the next few years, the company acquired small independent dairy and food companies to become a major distributor in the Lehigh Valley. Balford Farms merged with another longtime business in Philadelphia, Quality Dairy Products (operating as Breuninger's Dairy) in 1996.
Dairy Farmers of America sold their warehousing and distribution center in Harleysville, Pennsylvania to Balford Farms in 2012, formerly owned by Keller's Creamery, as part of a consolidation project.