Heler Foods to Boost Cheddar Production with New Innovative Facility

Heler Foods, a British cheese manufacturer, has announced a collaboration with Tetra Pak to develop a new cheese-making plant in the UK. This facility will utilize Tetra Pak's technology platform, Tetra Pak Factory OS, which incorporates artificial intelligence. The initiative aims to raise the creamery's annual production capacity to 38,000 tonnes.

The planned facility, with an investment of £25 million (€29 million), is expected to be operational by January 2028. As part of the upgrade, the plant will feature two high-speed pasteurisers, eight state-of-the-art cheese vats, and a new cheddar belt system. The system will offer continuous monitoring of production data and performance.

This real-time monitoring capability will enable processing equipment to autonomously adjust, optimizing cheese yield, improving product consistency, and enhancing operational efficiency. The investment marks a significant milestone in the expansion of the Heler Foods group, which has also invested in its specialist cheese packing facility in North Wales.

George Heler, CEO of Heler Foods, stated, "This investment underlines our long-term commitment to British cheese making. As a family business now in its third generation, we have always believed in reinvesting back into the future of the company and continuing to push forwards."

He further emphasized the importance of precision in cheese making, especially as consumer expectations evolve towards healthier and functional cheese products. The growth of their high-protein brand, Eatlean Protein, underscores the need for world-class process control and consistency.

The Tetra Pak Factory OS platform was developed in collaboration with Accenture and is supported by partners including Siemens, Rockwell Automation, and Inductive Automation. This collaboration aims to enhance the efficiency and precision of cheese production processes at Heler Foods.