AN award-winning cheese producer in North Tawton received a boost last week with a £900,000 investment in new machinery at its factory. Taw Valley creamery currently manufactures some 32,000 tonnes of cheese a year, but its plant is now 30 years old. A new fully enclosed tower, which will offer the opportunity to increase production capacity by up to seven tonnes per hour, supplied by Sherborne-based Carlisle Process Systems, was installed at the factory last month. Replacement of the old plant equipment should improve health and safety standards and should also increase environmental benefits, including reducing noise and chemical wastage. Managers believe the £900,000 investment in a tower with innovative design benefits will enable increased efficiency throughout the cheese-making process. As part of the project, the automation of the cheese-manufacturing department will be updated to give greater process control, meaning further improvements to product consistency. This year, Taw Valley has collected 95 awards including eleven trophies for its cheeses. The large investment comes after the Taw Valley brand was recently acquired under a joint venture between Milk Link and Glanbia which created the second largest integrated cheese producer in the UK. A spokesman said: ?The investment has given all the staff at Taw Valley a significant boost in morale. ?It shows our commitment to building on our strengths and providing a long-term sustainable business recognised for its efficiency in manufacturing high quality products and servicing our increasingly demanding customer requirements in a proactive manner.?
