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New Case Packer, Robotic Palletizer, Let Wisconsin Cheesemaker Efficiently Offer Multiple Output Options

With a new automated case packer and palletizer, Wisconsin Whey Protein’s cheesemaking operation can now offer its customers bulk cheese in barrels or in blocks.

The Massman Automation compact cheese block case packer packages 40-lb. blocks in protective cases for safe shipment and handling.
The Massman Automation compact cheese block case packer packages 40-lb. blocks in protective cases for safe shipment and handling.

Throughout the cheese industry, companies produce bulk cheese in a wide range of different varieties that we don’t see on the retail shelf. These companies then supply to customers who either use the cheese products in formulating other food products, or reformat the bulk cheese into wedges, slices, shredded cheese, or other configurations for consumer use. One of these companies is Wisconsin Whey Protein, a company best known in the industry for its superior quality whey products, but which, since 2015, has also produced bulk white cheddar cheese, one of the most popular cheeses among both consumers and the companies that incorporate it into finished food products.

Until recently, the company packaged nearly 1.4 million lbs. of bulk cheese on a weekly basis into 500-lb corrugated barrels, a popular option for bulk cheese shipments. In 2019, in recognition of other options to expand its cheese output packaging operation from packaging output only in barrels, it would add a 40-pound block format that was better suited for more cheese varieties and new customers’ needs. 

“We decided to also offer our cheeses in 40-pound blocks in addition to the 500-pound barrels to meet those new customer demands,” says Vern Kind, Wisconsin Whey’s master cheesemaker. “Our production levels would remain essentially the same, but customers would now be able to choose in which format they wanted their cheese delivered–barrels or blocks.”

Wisconsin Whey Protein and Stainless Technologies are sister companies with common ownership. A new cheesemaking line was developed and installed by Stainless Technologies, which designs, manufactures, and installs turnkey dairy processing systems, including infant formula lactose, whey protein and cheesemaking systems. The end-of-line portion of the new line, which packages the blocks for shipment, consists of a Massman Automation Cheese Block Wrap Around Case Packer that automatically case packs the blocks of cheese, then feeds the cases directly into a Massman robotic palletizer to prepare them for final shipping. The new cheese processing line feeds plastic-wrapped, vacuum-sealed, 40-lb. blocks of white cheddar, Monterey Jack, or parmesan cheese to the case packer infeed conveyor, which then carries them into the new integrated end-of-line packaging process.


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Interested in cheese and whey protein production? Check out this recent article: MWC Creates a Cheese and Whey Recipe for Success. Or, you can watch a video of author Joyce Fassl live in the MWC plant. 


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