Hills & Coast Business Grant 2023: Woodside Cheese Wrights

Grant Recipient Case Study – 2023 Funding Round

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Woodside Cheese Wrights is a premium producer of artisan cheeses, supplying major supermarkets, restaurants, and export markets from its Adelaide Hills facility.

To meet growing demand for their new jarred range, and improve overall quality, WCW sought to automate jar packaging and introduce milk testing technology to boost consistency and efficiency.

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Enhancing accuracy and efficiency in cheese production

Woodside Cheese Wrights used Hills & Coast Business Grant funding to introduce two critical improvements to its production line: a LactiCheck milk testing system and a semiautomated jar capper.

The LactiCheck system analyses milk composition, helping the business proactively adjust processes to suit the type of cheese being made. It has removed guesswork from their production cycle and allowed the team to:

• improve cheese quality through data informed decision making
• track seasonal variations in milk supply
• reduce waste and unnecessary overproduction
• improve collaboration with farmers to optimise milk quality

How the grant funding was used

The business also used a portion of the grant to purchase a semiautomated jar capper, responding to growing export demand from the USA. This allowed them to streamline one of the most labour-intensive steps in production.

With this equipment, Woodside Cheese Wrights has been able to:

• Increase output efficiency: 
  1 person can now output 400 jars p/hour vs 6 people to output 280 jars previously
• Improve consistency:
  The capper applies precise torque to every lid, reducing sealing issues
• Reduce risk of injury:
  Minimising repetitive manual capping has lowered the risk of RSI
• Improve workflow:
  Staff have more time to focus on other parts of production

What has happened since receiving the grant

The LactiCheck and capping system have both helped Woodside Cheese Wrights improve production capacity, staff safety, and product quality. The insights from milk testing will also allow the business to work more closely with its farmers to influence feed decisions and optimise milk outcomes. With more accurate tools and efficient processes in place, the business is better equipped to meet export demand and continue producing high-quality artisan cheese into the future.

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