Arla Foods’ Kruså Dairy has gone through large changes, since the dairy was reorganized 10 years ago from production of yellow to white cheese. The total production area is now an impressive 30,000 m2, and the annual production capacity has been increased from 16,000 to 26,000 tonnes. ALECTIA has been the main adviser on facilities for cold storage, packaging, and storage as well as on the extension of the production capacity – and now also advises on occupational health and safety.

It requires careful planning to upgrade a production plant without disturbing daily operations during the upgrade period.

Arla Foods has produced Mediterranean-inspired white cheese at Arla Foods’ Kruså Dairy since 2000. Previously the white cheese was called feta cheese; however, since 2007 only Greece has been allowed to use the name feta.  

Large-scale extension requires specialist knowledge
The market for Mediterranean-inspired white cheese is growing on all Arla Foods’ European markets, and sales have gone beyond expectations. Therefore, Arla Foods decided to extend the production of white cheeses with 50 % in 2003. Such large-scale production extension requires specialist knowledge of how to extend dairies. That is why Arla Foods chose ALECTIA as their main consultant for the large-scale project.

The extension of Krusaa Dairy was divided into two stages. The first stage from 2003-2006, where ALECTIA was the main consultant on the extension of cold-storage, packaging and storing facilities, and the second stage from 2006-2010, where ALECTIA was the main consultant on the production capacity increase. The dairy was extended from 17,000 m2 to 30,000 m2 and is designed with a focus on improving the working environment and ensure a natural flow from the raw material reception to the delivery of finished products.

Rebuilding without disrupting the production
The main challenge has been not to disturb the daily operations in the dairy during the upgrade. This required a special planning and control of the process. For instance ALECTIA had planned the extension right down to the last detail to allow for the close down of production in the winter holidays to ensure that every second of the week was utilized to the optimum effect. In spite of the upgrade works, the dairy has been able to produce the planned amount of white cheese during the entire process.

The production capacity increase of Krusaa Dairy means that Arla Foods to a higher degree can match the increased demand for Mediterranean-inspired white cheese. Today the dairy is the primary producer of white cheese in the Arla Foods Group with 200 product codes and 20 different white cheeses. One of these cheeses even won a gold medal at the world championships in Wisconsin in 2010, and the same year several of the other cheeses won medals at the National Dairy Exhibition.