Production
Cheese dairy
Our organisation comprises two cheese factories where several thousand tons of cheese are produced every year. In Katwoude and Heerenveen, our cheese makers make as many 50 different cheeses and herbal cheeses from regular organic cow's, goat's and sheep's milk. This demands a lot from our cheese makers. They have to be able to switch quickly and effectively between the different types of cheese.
The fact that we make cheese semi-automatically at Henri Willig means that our cheese makers must master both the old-fashioned art of making cheese and the most modern computer controls. The Cheesemakers are responsible for the entire cheese making process from the pasteurisation of the milk up to and including the pickling of the cheeses and therefore have a very broad and varied range of tasks.
Our cheesemakers generally have a food background, both in terms of education and work experience, and therefore literally know what happens to a living product like cheese during the preparation process. This knowledge goes hand in hand with a certain inventiveness that creates the perfect conditions for preparing the many different flavours and for developing several new types of cheese each year.
Logistics
In the Logistics department in Katwoude and Heerenveen, it is a challenge every day to organise all activities relating to the packaging, refining, maturing, storage and distribution of our cheeses as efficiently as possible, so that our customers receive their cheeses at the right time.quality cheeses received.
In Heerenveen, our employees receive the orders from the office sales staff and use them to draw up the production planning for the cheese factory. This way, our cheese makers know when they have to produce which cheese variety (and in which quantity).
Based on the orders from the sales office, the planning of the packaging and storage is also done by the employees of the business office. This way, our Logistics employees know exactly when which packaging and refining activities must take place.
Finally, the Plant Office instructs the transporters on the basis of the order and production planning so that they can deliver our Dutch cheese specialties at the right time to our customers in more than 25 countries around the world.
It is therefore fair to say that our employees in the Operations Office put all their organisational and planning talents into action every day to form the beating heart of Henri Willig Cheese Factory.
Our Logistics department is responsible for carrying out all activities with the cheeses from the moment the cheesemakers have pickled them. The logistical process thus begins with the brine bath. After the curing process, the cheeses are plasticised.
After the cheeses have reached the right age in the warehouse, they are labelled with the greatest precision with our own brand labels or the customer's labels. Then the cheeses are provided with a paraffin layer, if necessary, and they are packed and prepared for transport by our Logistics Team.
Our Logistics employees have mastered all the above-mentioned activities and are therefore trained in a very all-round manner. This not only ensures that the work is very versatile and varied, but also that our Logistics Employees have just as much love and passion for cheese as the cheese makers. The Logistics Employees also put all their knowledge and energy into ensuring that consumers ultimately enjoy our distinctive cheese specialities.
In our cheese factory in Katwoude, almost the same processes take place as in Heerenveen. The difference is that in Katwoude, cheese is made on a smaller scale and that the activities that are carried out in Heerenveen by the Operations Office have been transferred to the other departments.
Another difference is that the majority of the cheeses are made for sale in our own shops and we arrange transport to the relevant shops ourselves.
Technical Department
Our Technical Service employees repair mechanical, electrical, pneumatic, control and hydraulic faults and defects in the process equipment in our plants. With their broad technical expertise, they ensure that the cheese making process can continue at all times. With their inventiveness, the Technical Services department ensures safer technical situations, a higher production capacity and the sustainability of our organisation.
Our strength
Our strength lies largely in our ability to offer a very wide range, starting from relatively small quantities and tailored to your needs. Because of this, a flexible attitude and a 'can do' mentality among our employees is essential and at the same time characteristic of our company.
Every day, we strive for excellent cooperation between the production departments, which results in an optimal flow of goods and enables us to delight our (end) customers with our distinctive and delicious cheese varieties.
