CHEESE PRODUCTION

Kirkholm has upgraded a machine for cheese production for one of the world's largest dairy companies and cheese producers. The upgrade has made it possible to increase capacity, and the machine now cuts 4.2 tonnes of mozzarella cheese per hour - one tonne more than before.

The machine, which is part of a large production plant at a factory in France, was developed by a Danish company a quarter of a century ago. Therefore, they also looked to Denmark, as vital parts of the machine were worn and in need of replacement. Kirkholm has been responsible for the design of a completely new knife system and a transport auger that cuts curd on the 3.5 meter wide machine.

New and old equipment in interaction

Over the course of 25 years, a great deal has happened in the field of technological development, and therefore the challenge was also especially to get new and old equipment to play together. One of the challenges in the task was to ensure that new production methods such as CNC grinding of a knife could be used in the existing design. Another challenge was to adjust 127 knives on a 3.5 meter wide drum. The knives should have a tolerance of just 0.5 millimeters down to the counter-cut. In addition, it also presented challenges to mount a new knife drum and a new auger in the machine, where 25 years of use had left its mark and therefore was no longer completely straight.

Effective assembly

Focus on planning and coordination between locations in both Denmark and France has been crucial. As the French factory is located just over 1600 kilometers away from Denmark, it was only possible to see the machine in operation once, while the empty and cleaned machine had to be measured in just three hours. Subsequently, it also required an adaptable design to ensure efficient assembly of the new parts.

Despite challenges along the way, we have succeeded in increasing cheese production on the old machine, which is now combined with new solutions.