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Austintown Dairy home-grown tribute to dad
BOARDMAN
It all started more than 50 years ago when, according to his sons, James Creighton decided he could do better for himself by starting his own business.
After stints with the Petersburg Creamery and Seal Test Dairy, Creighton purchased a truck and started the Austintown Dairy from his home in the same town.
At first, he delivered only ice cream, but soon began distributing a host of products from Borden Dairy when it was in business.
“He loaded the truck, kept it refrigerated, made the sales calls and delivered all the products himself,” said his son Tom, who now serves as vice president of the company and oversees the dairy’s daily operations at its current location on Bev Road in Boardman.
Things eventually changed as Tom, and his brother Joe, who now serves as president of the company, came of age. They’d spend summers and holiday breaks from school learning the ins and out of the business, which came in handy after Creighton died in 1990, passing the business on to his sons.
At the time, Tom was only 17. His brother was just 23. The company had grown to include three trucks, but the brothers managed to surpass their own expectations.
Today, Austintown Dairy is one of the area’s larger distributors, with 36 employees, 23 delivery trucks and an expansive facility where more than 300 deliveries originate each day from hundreds of pallets of product.
“We just grew up doing this,” Tom said during a recent interview at the dairy. “Modern technology with combination temperature trucks, handheld computers and willingness have helped over the years.”
Joe credits his employees with the growth the company has seen in recent years.
Chances are, you’ve benefited from the Austintown Dairy and what it supplies.
Mom-and-pop convenience stores choose local distributors as a way to minimize orders. It’s unlikely that purveyors will order straight from businesses such as Dean Dairy in Sharpsville, Pa., or Blue Bunny Ice Cream in Des Moines, Iowa.
The company does not make product. Instead, it provides local grocers, convenience stores and other outlets with a suit of ice creams, juices, milks and other commodities.
“Tea is bigger now, a lot bigger than it used to be,” Tom said. “It’s actually the No. 1-selling product in the state of Ohio. Less people are drinking milk and turning to other things instead.”
Joe added that the business operates on about $4 million annually. Dairies, the brothers said, have always cast a wide net with such products — competition is stiff at the same time.
Chief competitors, believe it or not, include cigarette companies such as ABL Wholesale in Youngstown and Sledd in West Virginia, both of which distribute candy, juices and smokes.
“Our main focus is selling what they can’t — it’s selling frozen stuff,” Joe said, “Those things that the guys without refrigerated trucks can’t sell.”
Those trucks are a major plus for the dairy. At a cost of $120,000 each, the vehicles feature dual refrigeration units with freezers at minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit in the front and refrigerated units at the rear.
Going forward, the goal for Joe and Tom is to continue growing the business. Tom has a daughter, 9, and Joe has a son, 10, and a daughter, 7.
Like their fathers, the children already are getting a leg up in learning the business.
“We’d like to pass it on one day,” Tom said.