New tower 'revolutionises' cheese cutting operations

The Cheese Company, part of Milk Link, the UK's third largest integrated dairy business, has invested in a revolutionary cheese tower supplied by...

The Cheese Company, part of Milk Link, the UK's third largest integrated dairy business, has invested in a revolutionary cheese tower supplied by Carlisle Process Systems (CPS).

Capable of a throughput of up to seven tonnes per hour, the tower features two knives -- which is claimed to be a first for the industry -- and its innovative design provides a safe method of cutting the specified amount of cheese, saving hours in cleaning spillage and waste costs.

"We believe we are the first company in the world to have produced this type of tower,'' says CPS product group head for cheesemaking systems Dave Shaw.

Operating at its Taw Valley Creamery, in North Tawton, Devon, the tower is fulfilling The Cheese Company's primary goal -- to boost both production and further enhance the quality of the multi-award-winning Cheddar, Red Leicester and Double Gloucester cheeses it manufactures.

Site general manager at Taw Valley Creamery, Jim Dunlop, says: ''The real key to the CPS tower is its quality together with the added bacteriological improvements which it will bring to our operations. There really will be a major improvement in having state-of-the-art equipment.

Initially it will mean a small increase in production capacity, little more than from 5.25 to 5.5t an hour, but later we will be able to add 60% on to where we are today. So far, we will have improved product control and that in turn will provide more room for consistency in the cheese which leaves Taw Valley.

Summing up Mr Dunlop says: "The arrival of the new cheese tower at Taw Valley Creamery will provide benefits in efficiency, productivity and the quality and consistency of the cheeses we produce."

Contact: Carlisle Process Systems, Tel: 01935 818800