Dairy staff member with cheese wheel in a storage room
Company

Company

A cheese from Europe for the world

TINE, a Norwegian food manufacturer, is building a modern dairy in Ireland – with European technology “made in Germany”. A transnational flagship project.

Storehouse with cheese wheels
Storage

Jarlsberg® cheese takes four weeks to develop its characteristic holes. Afterwards, it ripens in cold storage – for weeks or months, depending on the desired intensity of flavour.

Europe functions as an economic unit, even beyond EU borders. To illustrate this, we could talk about capital flows and the movement of goods, about the internal market and trade agreements. Or we could simply talk about Jarlsberg® cheese.

The traditional Norwegian cheese is sold in many countries around the world. It is made from cow's milk pasteurised in the dairy and prepared for ripening for about thirty hours. Over the next four weeks it develops its characteristic holes and then ripens for several weeks to months in cold storage depending on the desired intensity.

The Norwegian producer TINE needed an additional production facility to meet the demand from abroad, especially from Canada, Australia, the EU and the USA. The planned dairy will be environmentally friendly, energy efficient and high-capacity, designed to produce around 20,000 tonnes of cheese annually. This volume corresponds to around 600,000 litres of milk, which are processed into around 60,000 kilos of cheese every day. It sounds like a lot. And it is! The question of location and equipment was therefore a big decision for TINE. And this decision was made in the spirit of Europe.

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Optimal location

Tim O‎'Mahony's cows are grazing near the new dairy. Every other day, a milk tanker from Dairygold will drive to his farm to collect the fresh raw milk. The Irish farmer and TINE project manager Halvor Rognstad (right) are happy about the partnership in a borderless Europe.

Irish cow's milk for Norwegian cheese

The new dairy is located in Ireland, on one of the many green pastures in the southern Irish county of Cork where there are cows and milk – and the dairy cooperative Dairygold. “The choice of location in Ireland had its foundation in a longstanding relationship between TINE and Dairygold,” says Halvor Rognstad, project manager at the Norwegian food manufacturer. Around 800 farms in the Irish dairy cooperative will supply the milk for the Norwegian cheese starting in October 2019. Farmer Tim O’Mahony’s cows will also be among those supplying the milk. Their pasture is close to the new dairy, as are most of the other suppliers. Every other day, a milk tanker from Dairygold will drive to their farm to collect the fresh raw milk.

But not quite yet. The plant is still under construction. The dairy plant will be equipped with the most advanced environmental technology, a heat recovery system, environmentally friendly coolants and a waste water treatment facility. “Lending is based on a longstanding customer relationship between KfW IPEX-Bank and TINE. We had already supported the renewal of the truck fleets from Euro 4 to Euro 6, for example” explains Dominik Trayer, project manager at KfW IPEX-Bank. “TINE is very responsible about its carbon footprint, complies with all EU requirements and invests sustainably in Europe. With the dairy project, the company is also investing outside Norway in a European country.”

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A European project through and through

The total investment volume for the new dairy is 77 million euros. KfW IPEX-Bank is providing the required debt capital of 50 million euros. “With this financing, KfW IPEX-Bank is supporting a large number of companies in the European export industry,” explains Dominik Trayer. “Procurement markets and sales markets can no longer be separated in Europe. When an investment is made in one European country, there are always links to other European countries.” In this case the technology for the dairy comes from European suppliers like Ireland, Great Britain, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands and indirectly from Germany.

Tine dairy
State-of-the-art

The dairy plant is equipped with advanced environmental technology, including a heat recovery system, environmentally friendly coolants and a wastewater treatment facility.

”Procurement markets and sales markets can no longer be separated in Europe. When an investment is made in one European country, there are always links to other European countries.” In this case the technology for the dairy comes from European suppliers like Ireland, UK, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands and indirectly also from Germany.

The new dairy will not only benefit a Norwegian company and Irish farmers, but also a number of European national economies and cheese consumers in various markets around the world. Plant construction has created jobs in many countries. When the dairy goes into operation in October, another fifty or so highly qualified jobs will be created on site. Jarlsberg ®is a European cheese for the world.

Published on KfW Stories: Tuesday, 2 July 2019

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All United Nations member states adopted the 2030 Agenda in 2015. At its heart is a list of 17 goals for sustainable development, known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Our world should become a place where people are able to live in peace with each other in ways that are ecologically compatible, socially just, and economically effective.