Overview
Skånemejerier is a Swedish dairy company with a clear vision: to become Sweden’s most sustainable dairy producer. They firmly believe that good food is essential – not only for our health and well-being, but also for nature and society as a whole.
The foundation of their offering is in naturally nutritious dairy products, produced in partnership with Swedish dairy farmers who provide exceptional raw materials while also contributing to nature conservation and a vibrant countryside. Ensuring their products are coded and labeled with the same level of care and quality is a natural part of their commitment.
Before we can enjoy their delightful cheese at home, cozied up by the fireplace, it undergoes a careful ageing process to develop the ideal flavour and texture. After being cut and packaged to various consumer formats based on the intended use the cheese is shipped to grocery stores across Sweden.
Fast facts about Skånemejerier
- Skånemejerier’s production site in Kristianstad is one of four company sites across Sweden.
- Skånemejerier is part of the Lactalis Group, the world’s largest dairy producer, with 85,500 employees.
- The site specialises in processing cheese into consumer-friendly formats, including grated, portioned, and sliced varieties.
- Eight production lines are in operation in Kristianstad, one of these running 24/7.
- They deliver over 11,000 tons of cheese per year to stores across Sweden.
- Mostly Präst, Herrgård, and Grevé cheeses are produced here.
Local farmers
Large cheese wheels produced in one of Skånemejerier’s nearby facilities are waxed and matured for up to 24 months to develop the perfect flavour. The raw material for the cheese wheels comes from nearby dairy farmers, all of whom have long-term agreements with the company. After the wheels have been carefully aged, it’s time to process them into various consumer products. As much as 80% of the cheese is cut into portions, with the remainder being sliced or grated. Cheese processing takes place across eight separate production lines across the Kristianstad site.
Taco time
A beloved and relatively new tradition in Sweden is enjoying tacos on Friday evenings. For the perfect taco buffet, a flavourful grated cheese is a must. At Skånemejerier’s factory, grated cheese is packed into flexible bags using a horizontal form-fill-seal (HFFS) machine. For marking every bag with a best-before date, in compliance with food regulations in Sweden, a Vx150i TTO (thermal transfer overprint) printer is seamlessly integrated into the process.
Automated packaging line
Skånemejerier’s facility is highly automated, ensuring minimal human interaction at the cheese production line to maintain both high quality and efficient production. After the grated, sliced, or cut cheese is weighed and packaged in consumer-ready packaging, it is placed in reusable trays. Each tray is then labeled using Domino's latest Mx350i print & apply labeling technology.
Labeling these trays has posed a challenge: their design, surface, and material have been developed to make cleaning and reusing them as easy as possible.
However, this design places particularly high demands on the labeling equipment. To overcome the challenge, Domino has developed a specially adapted applicator pad for the Mx-Series units. The pad has the same shape as the tray and is soft to ensure the label adheres properly to the uneven surface.
Once all the trays have been labeled, they are stacked on a pallet and shrink wrapped. A Domino pallet labeler is ready to complete the final labeling step. Two labels, following GS1 standards, are applied to adjacent sides of the filled pallets.
Now the cheese is ready to be delivered to stores across Sweden and bring joy to taco nights.
Equipment fast facts
- Vx150i
Thermal transfer printer (TTO) for printing best-before dates on bags.
- Mx-Series
Print & apply labelers label the front panel of trays with batch number, weight, logo, barcode, best-before date, and company origin.
- M230i-P150
Palett labeler labels two sides of each pallet with the Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC), article number, EAN, weight, units, batch number, best-before date, and barcodes.