Baltic cheese plant expands
contract worth €3 million with processing equipment provider APV to
provide anautomated production facility at the company's Rokiskio
plant in Lithuania.
Rokiskio suris is currently the largest producer of dairy products in Lithuania and has now become one of the biggest within the three Baltic States. The company has grown rapidly in recent years and processes approximately 40 per cent of all Lithuanian milk production, which represents the maximum production capacity limit set by the Lithuanian government.
As a result the company, in addition to looking for increased milk supplies, wants to increase the efficiency of cheese production while incorporating greater flexibility. It is hoped that this will eventually allow Rokiskio suris to respond to changing customer demands and bring new product lines on stream.
A large part of the Rokiskio suris production is Goya cheese which is exported to several countries, including the US and Germany. The daily milk intake of the dairy is 1,1 million litres, and although cheese production is the principal activity, a range of milk powders are also produced.
Due to the pressures of growth, the company needed to enhance production by embracing modern production methods, which utilise advanced equipment that can be highly automated.
Dalius Trumpa, director of operations said, "APV has worked with Rokiskio suris when it was privatised after regaining independence from the former Soviet Union. This was an important factors in selecting APV for this important project".
APV supplied two membrane filtration plants in the 1990's, but now a more extensive installation is required, including the supply and commissioning of a pre-press, a final press line, an ultra-filtration system for protein standardisation and pasteurisation equipment. The project is scheduled for completion in April 2004.
APV is part of the Invensys Group, a global leader in production technology. The group helps customers improve productivity, performance and profitability using services and technologies and understanding of their industries and applications. The group currently operates in over 60 countries and is headquartered in London, England.
