Westby Creamery Completes $14.1m Enclosed-Vat Upgrade
Westby Cooperative Creamery marked the completion of the investment with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at its plant in Westby, Wisconsin. The farmer-owned cooperative is Wisconsin’s only remaining cottage-cheese manufacturer. Its new production system replaces older open-vat equipment before the existing infrastructure reaches the end of its operating life.
The enclosed-vat technology was engineered by Denmark-based Nordic Dairy Technology. It reduces the production cycle from 16 hours to eight, according to the company’s project information. The process is also expected to produce 10% to 15% more cottage cheese from the same quantity of raw milk by limiting product losses and using gentler curd handling.
Westby announced the project with seven million pounds of additional yearly capacity. That capacity was sold in advance within six months of the initial announcement, as demand for cottage cheese increased across the United States. The source describes the product as part of a broader consumer market for high-protein and clean-label cultured dairy foods.
The expansion includes a new food-grade production room containing two enclosed multi-cheese vats. Each vat can produce as much as 12,000 pounds per run. Other equipment includes two cream tanks, each with a capacity of 10,000 gallons, and a 30,000-gallon milk silo supplied by Wisconsin manufacturers. Refrigeration and sanitation systems were also upgraded.
Production takes place in an air environment filtered through HEPA systems. Within the sealed process, automated equipment handles ingredient dosing, testing and cleaning in place. The cooperative said the arrangement improves biosecurity and microbiological safety while reducing water and utility use per unit of output.
The former open-vat process involved employees stirring ingredients, moving fresh curd and draining whey water by hand. The new system automates curd transfer and agitation, changing those roles into operator positions without reducing the workforce. About 150 existing jobs are being maintained, while the project is intended to double processing throughput and improve the conversion of milk components into finished product.
Westby Cooperative Creamery has nearly 100 member-owners. The cooperative said the modernisation would support its use of locally supplied raw milk and maintain cultured-dairy manufacturing at the Wisconsin facility.
