Peruvian dairy giant Grupo Gloria has invested US$1m to reopen a cheese facility in Nueva Helvecia, Uruguay, which was shut down in 2015 because of low dairy prices and union conflicts.
“We decided to reopen the cheese plant to have a process and operation that is profitable,” a spokesperson told just-food, adding the site has the capacity to process 60,000 liters of milk a day that will be turned into “semi hard” Dambo, Edam, Gouda and Pratto cheeses. It plans to start production of hard cheeses under the Sbrinz brand in the second quarter.
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The reopening of the plant also means the resumption of operations for its subsidiary, Gloria Foods del Uruguay, which has already recommenced sales in the country and will start to export to Peru again in March. It also plans to increase shipments in its existing markets of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Argentina and Puerto Rico.
“After that we plan to open new markets in South America, the Caribbean, the USA, Russia and Europe,” said Alfredo Montoya, manager of the operations in Uruguay.”
