The Latvian company, Preilu Siers, has continued to increase its export of cheeses into Europe with production rising from 3,562 to 5,919 tonnes last year alone. But while entry into the EU may have opened up new markets, it has also increased the need to optimise operational efficiency.
Because despite slow growth, Latvia is still the poorest of the Baltic countries due to its lack of natural resources, and must modernise if it is to compete effectively within the EU.
As a result, the firm is currently installing five enclosed double-O cheese vats, one draining & matting conveyor for the cheddaring process, two towers for forming standard cheese blocks, a milk pasteurisation and standardisation line and a cleaning-in-place (CIP) plant, all supplied by Carlisle Processing Systems (CPS).
CPS's Damrow machines have been operating successfully on the Latvian site since 1998. CPS UK managing Director Charles Todd believes that this relationship was key to winning the contract.
The project will be managed from CPS Damrow in Denmark. In addition to supplying the new process plant, CPS Damrow will have full responsibility for the design and installation of a new pipe work and valve system, the design and supply of a new control system for the process line, as well as full commissioning of the complete new production line.
The new process line is expected to be in operation in June 2005 in order to maintain the company's position in the market.
The agrifoods sector represents 16.4 per cent of Latvia's exports. Small farms and high internal consumption however means Latvia's agriculture is in steady decline, though dairy products and beef cattle still take up a third of this sector.
It is vital therefore for Latvia's development within the common market that firms such as Preilu Siers are able to compete on the international stage.
Preilu Siers was formed in 1994 as a result of the privatisation of the Soviet dairy. It is a major force in the production and export of hard cheeses in Latvia and produces 21 types of dairy products, including sour cream, milk and yoghurts.
CPS UK is now a division of Carlisle Process Systems (CPS), a world leading systems and equipment business supplying the cheese, dairy, food and beverage industries which also has manufacturing facilities in the USA and China as well as sales and service offices throughout the world.