While doing a recent job I visited the Dairy Crest National Distribution Centre in Nuneaton, UK. We were given a VIP tour of this state-of-the-art distribution plant, which delivers food products throughout the UK. Nuneaton also houses their cheese maturation store and a packing facility for Cathedral City and Davidstow brands.
These brands are produced in Cornwall and then transported to Nuneaton to mature over a number of years in a special facility. Cathedral City is still the most popular brand of cheese in the United Kingdom and the 10th most popular brand in the UK.
A must-have if you fancy some cheese on toast. This brand of cheddar is produced from a 25-year-old recipe at Davidstow in Cornwall from purely Cornish milk.
Cheese and Dairy Storage and Packing
The picking plant for packaged products holds in excess of 12 thousand tonnes of cheese and is a fully automated warehouse held at a steady 2°C. The next room was more impressive as it was literally a towering ‘cathedral’ of cheddar.
The racks and stacks went over two floors (maybe ten storeys) and were served by four Demag robot cranes. This maturation area, held at 10°C, holds some £60 million worth of cheese over a period from 6 months to 7 years, depending upon the maturity required.
Slicing and Logistics
The slicer robots and packing lines were even more impressive. They packed cheese at a phenomenal rate, ready to go to the picking area and on to your supermarket.
The distribution centre actually handles a range of foods for other companies to save on logistics. This means that a Dairy Crest lorry may well deliver meringues and cakes as well as dairy products. Dairy Crest are also responsible for Clover and Country Life butter. And guess what, I got some of the special reserve cheddar to take home and try. So, its cheese and crackers tonight.
