Westby Creamery unveils US$14M enclosed-vat modernization facility

USA – Westby Cooperative Creamery has marked the completion of a US$14.1 million manufacturing modernization project at its Westby, Wisconsin plant.

The capital investment introduces a state-of-the-art enclosed-vat cottage cheese production system—representing the first commercial installation of its kind in the United States.

Designed to replace aging open-vat infrastructure before reaching end-of-life, the upgrade positions Wisconsin’s only remaining cottage cheese manufacturer to capture surging consumer demand for protein-dense, clean-label cultured dairy staples.

The adoption of enclosed-vat technology, engineered by Denmark-based Nordic Dairy Technology (NDT), fundamentally alters commercial manufacturing economics by cutting vat cycle times from 16 hours down to eight.

The automated enclosed process yields an estimated 10% to 15% more cottage cheese from the same volume of raw milk through gentler curd handling and reduced product loss.

With nationwide cottage cheese retail demand surging, the cooperative pre-sold the facility’s additional seven million pounds of annual production capacity within six months of the project’s initial announcement.

Physical improvements inside the manufacturing complex include a newly constructed food-grade production room housing two fully enclosed multi-cheese vats capable of producing up to 12,000 pounds per run.

Supporting auxiliary systems feature two 10,000-gallon cream tanks, a 30,000-gallon milk silo sourced from Wisconsin manufacturers, and upgraded refrigeration and sanitation circuits.

Operating in a HEPA-filtered air environment, the automated system handles ingredient dosing, testing, and cleaning-in-place (CIP) within a sealed envelope, significantly enhancing biosecurity and microbiological safety.

Previously, cottage cheese production required physically grueling manual tasks, including standing over open vats to stir ingredients, shovel fresh curd, and drain whey water.

Automating curd transfer and agitation transforms manual labor roles into automated operator positions, protecting roughly 150 existing jobs while decreasing per-unit water and utility consumption across the processing floor.

The completed modernization secures long-term economic stability for the farmer-owned cooperative’s nearly 100 member-owners.

By doubling processing throughput, improving component conversion efficiency, and aligning production with high-protein consumer dietary trends, the century-old dairy cooperative strengthens its competitive footing against mass-market processors.

Investing in automated, closed-vat processing infrastructure ensures regional dairy producers capture maximum value from local raw milk supplies while anchoring cultured dairy manufacturing within the state.

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