Belgian cheese produced with help of Valmet DNA

Cheese production has been running at Fromunion NV – Kaasmakerij Passendale since the 1970s. Lately, the outdated automation system had become a threat to the cheese production because spare parts and resources were no longer available.

The migration project started with thorough research work to prepare a smooth transition to the Valmet DNA system. Some of the old parts were still in the DOS environment and hardly had any documentation available. All planning needed to be made carefully, otherwise the production might have had major issues. At the same time, the roof of the production facilities was also being renewed.

Hygienically safe environment required

Producing cheese consists of several steps. In every phase, the surrounding environment has to be hygienically safe. When raw milk arrives in the factory, it has to be pasteurized first before it is taken into the batch process.

Almost more than redundant

The factory has been able to move from its old system to modern operator stations, which is a significant change for the operators. Niek Vandendriessche is happy with the end results because the entire process can be controlled and supervised from each user interface workstation.

The total system replacement has been realized within 12 days. The time schedule of the system replacement was planned in detail. The first trial was performed with water instead of milk to be sure that the production would run flawlessly.

Paving the way for the future with Valmet

Good service communication in the Dutch language, keeping the right timing and providing automation expertise are key factors when it comes to serving Fromunion NV in Passendale.