Arla uses innovative technology to cut down on product waste

Arla Foods' Stourton creamery has introduced state-of-the-art pipe cleaning technology, which helps reduce product waste and saves water, following a successful trial.

The technology, which shoots a flexible, serrated piece of plastic down the pipes to remove excess product, means that the company can retrieve product that would previously have been washed out of the pipes and wasted during cleaning.

Karina Mikkelsen, head of process development at Arla, said: “We have the potential to reduce cleaning times as the pipes haven’t got any product residue in them after the process has taken place, and therefore we can reduce the number of flushes because of this, which is very much in line with our Closer to Nature ambition and our environmental strategy to reduce water usage.”

This innovative technology recovered far more product than expected during initial trials and is now used permanently on cottage cheese and custard production lines at the site.

Following the implementation of the technology on two lines, it has been hailed a triumph and has exceeded expectations. Arla is now looking to use the innovative system on additional product lines in 2012.

Arla Foods UK plc is home to some of the UK’s leading dairy brands including Cravendale, Lurpak and Anchor. Processing approximately two billion litres of milk a year Arla continues to be one of the UK’s leading dairy companies and a supplier of fresh liquid milk and cream to the top seven retailers.

Over 2,500 daily deliveries are made directly to stores nationwide and Arla brands can be found across the dairy category. As well as the leader of the butter, spreads and margarine sector, and a major supplier of other added value products including flavoured milk and cheese, Arla continues to build working relationships with Arla Foods Milk Partnership, a unique group of dairy farmers, which supplies around 90 per cent of Arla's total milk requirements.

Behind this leading business is a team of circa 2,800 people across the UK located at our dairies, distribution centres and head office.