Clayton Industries case history

“To make the best frozen dessert possible you need a supply of fresh, high quality milk,” said Henry. “Unfortunately, there has been a tremendous consolidation on the producer and processor side of the dairy industry over the last forty years. Many of the small processors have been replaced by very large facilities focusing on fluid milk production. These facilities don’t have the time, desire or economic interest to engage in the much slower process of making an extremely high-quality ice cream or frozen custard mix. So, it’s always been a dream of ours to take the process of making our proprietary recipe in-house and to do the things the bigger guys simply can’t do. I don’t know of anyone else doing the things we’re doing here at Goodberry’s.” Harry contacted a local dairy for guidance, which led to conversa- Frozen custard processing equipment that is cleaned and sterilized via the Clayton Steam Generator after each batch is made.

Rescuing quality with Clayton While growing popularity led to success and more Goodberry’s store openings, change was upon the dairy industry.

Now it was time to build the busi- ness. Henry’s mother, Joan, a former schoolteacher, served as director of operations and training. For a busi- ness name they chose“Goodberry’s” to express their focus on quality ingredients and fresh toppings. The first and second stores were opened in close succession, with architec- tural elements mimicking dairy silos and 1930’s themes to emphasize the experience of real, old school, natural flavor. As the business grew, Harry worked with a local engineer in the area to develop a frozen custard mix machine, a last measure to preserve freshness while meeting demand. “We make our product in our stores hourly from the mix we make at our production facility,” Henry said. “Fresh tastes better. By contrast, if you go to a dip shop the product has already been in cold storage for 2 to 8 months depending on flavor. Not us. We’re all about freshness at the point of delivery.”

This extremely small boiler room was built to state regulations. Since Clayton equipment is ⅓ the size of a conventional firetube boiler, building costs were reduced. The building had to blend with surroundings due to being within city limits, and to look aesthetically pleasing.

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