The center has full-scale engineering capabilities, from cheese-making process design to mechanical, automation and electrical engineering through to manufacturing of processing solutions.
Employing more than 350 staff across engineering, production and business management, the 12,000 sq.m. site in Olsztyn, north-eastern Poland, will double Tetra Pak’s cheese-making solution capacity in the country and allow extensive equipment testing.
Ola Elmqvist, executive vice president, processing solutions & equipment at Tetra Pak, said, “As the only company able to deliver a completely seamless integrated solution for cheese production, this investment demonstrates our commitment to help customers meet rapidly changing consumer demands and capture emerging growth opportunities.”
Tetra Pak said it helps customers develop new production methods and processes that meet trends for cheese as an ingredient, on-the-go snack and high protein diet addition.
“One of the main reasons we chose Olsztyn is its excellent location in the heart of a region with a great dairy tradition and excellent food engineering talent base. This means we’re perfectly placed to serve not only our customers in Poland but also wider Europe,” Elmqvist said.
The site has been designed and constructed in full compliance with Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) requirements. Among the features included to minimize its environmental footprint, the site has an automatic “weather control” system that manages ventilation and sunlight, and a rainwater collection system that supplies water for site maintenance.