News milk
FrieslandCampina wants to get more money from cheese whey
FrieslandCampina has given the starting signal for renovations at two locations in Friesland that will lead to more profit from cheese whey, and in a more climate- and environmentally friendly way.
Read this article?
Become a subscriber and get instant access
Choose the subscription that suits you
In total, FrieslandCampina is investing €50 million in the modernisation and expansion of capacities in Workum and Gerkesklooster.
€30 million is being earmarked for the expansion of the whey production location in Workum. This investment will make it possible to process all the whey from the cheese factory there into high-quality WPC products. The project is scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter of 2026.
An important part of the expansion is the replacement of a fifty-year-old gas-fired evaporation plant with a new filtration plant, which can do more and works cleaner. The new plant will save 6.800 tons of CO2 and 350.000 cubic meters of drinking water annually.
€20 million will be allocated to the adjustments in Gerkesklooster. Two projects will be carried out there in combination: the optimization of whey processing for infant nutrition and the construction of a new milk reception. After completion of the first project at the end of 2025, more high-quality whey will be suitable as an ingredient for infant nutrition in the factory in Borculo. The second project in Gerkesklooster concerns the replacement of the outdated milk reception with a new one. This consumes less water and also requires much less maintenance. The new milk reception is expected to be put into use in mid-2026.