Cheese cooperative conquers dairy industry

Włoszczowa is the fifth-largest dairy in Poland and eighth in terms of export volume. It is a leader in the food industry in the Świętokrzyskie province and one of the largest employers in the Włoszczowa district. Known for its high-quality cheeses, Włoszczowa is conquering not only European markets, but is reaching distant places such as Australia, China, the Middle East, North Africa and the United States. Last year, the cooperative celebrated its 80th anniversary and began operating a modern cheese ripening production line. The investment, the cooperative’s biggest to date, will strengthen its position as a regional leader in the food industry.

Since it was founded in 1936, Włoszczowa has been producing high-quality dairy products. Its modern facilities contain production lines for packaging, bottling and various processes such as ultrafiltration, microfiltration and nanofiltration. Włoszczowa only uses the best milk, purchased from six Polish provinces, to produce dairy products for consumers with various tastes and preferences. The company is developing partnerships in all possible distribution channels, working with wholesalers, modern retail chains, franchise networks and companies operating in the trade sector.

According to a recent survey by Target Group Index, Włoszczowa took third place among the most-consumed brands in Poland. As a leading cheese producer, the brand offers a wide variety of such products, cheese for bread, cottage cheese, curd cheesecake, cream, milk beverages like kefir, buttermilk, yogurt, desserts, butter and catering products. In the coming years, the cooperative plans to add new products. Włoszczowa has changed the packaging of its butter, yogurt and sour cream to expand its customer reach while preserving the brand.  

The Włoszczowa factory can process 500,000 liters of milk a day, amounting to more than 50 tons of cheese.

The company’s cheese-ripening line is one of the most modern in Poland. The 6 million euro investment increases Włoszczowa’s production of yellow cheese by 25 percent. The accompanying installations included brewing, brining and washing stations. The cheese factory can process 500,000 liters of milk a day, amounting to more than 50 tons of cheese – usually Dutch cheeses such as Gouda, Edam and Swiss-type cheese.

“Humans will always be irreplaceable in cheese production. However, we must adjust to working with equipment at our disposal,” said CEO Stanisław Skóra. “When you want to improve something, you have to modify the machine’s program. You might have the impression that you made a small impact on the process, but when the program is set, you are sure that day after day, hour after hour, the process is repeated.”

Skóra said the cooperative has already achieved full production capacity and now looks forward to a good situation on the market. Over the last two years, the dairy industry experienced very low prices, which reflected the price of milk procurement.  Although Włoszczowa is now well-equipped with the latest technological production lines and has reached European standards, the cooperative plans to continue thinking ahead.