With the construction of the new ripening warehouse in Hoogeveen, the DMK Group in the Netherlands will in future have the entire production chain for naturally matured cheese in its own hands: from the milk supplied by the members of Cooperatie DOC Kaas U.A., to the cheese production and subsequent ripening in its own warehouses in Hoogeveen, as well as slicing and packaging at Uniekaas Holland B.V. in Kaatsheuvel. The new warehouse is fully automated and has a storage capacity of more than 2,000 tonnes of naturally matured cheese. Around 25 million kilos of naturally matured cheese will leave the warehouse every year.

‘With the construction of the new ripening warehouse, we are now taking an important next step in our cheese strategy and not only strengthening our position in the cheese market, but also investing sustainably in our second home market in the Netherlands,’ says Frans Vlaar, COO of the Industry business unit at the DMK Group, who is responsible for the implementation. ‘With this decision, DMK is also sending a clear signal in the retail sector that it is an attractive supplier of matured natural products in the brand and private label business. This benefits all sides: the company, the location, customers and consumers.’

More efficient and sustainable
The new building offers several advantages: maturing in-house makes the entire process significantly more efficient. This results in shorter processing times, more compact logistics and lower costs due to the elimination of external maturing. The latter also helps to make the production chain more sustainable, as intermediate transport is no longer necessary and CO2 emissions can be reduced. The new warehouse will also benefit the quality of the cheese, as fewer operations influence the ripening conditions, making it even easier to achieve consistent quality. The construction also offers advantages for the region, as the new ripening warehouse will create new jobs at the Hoogeveen site in the long term.