F&B Pro: A fine solution for cheese production

Maturation is an important process in cheese production. The longer a cheese matures, the spicier it becomes, it develops its unmistakable aroma. However, the ripening process involves a lot of work. The loaves must be regularly brushed and brushed with brine. In the past, this was done almost everywhere by hand and required considerable effort. In modern cheese cellars this is now done automatically.

The Kaesaro company, which is based in the small Swiss town of Diepoldsau in the Rhine Valley (Canton St. Gallen), develops and produces ultra-modern cheese cellar robots in conjunction with intralogistics systems that perform this task. They transport the cheese loaves - sometimes individually, sometimes in "hordes" of up to 250 "loaves" - and feed them to the robots, where they are maintained with brushes of varying hardness and brine. They are then returned to their storage places before they are removed from storage - depending on the desired degree of ripeness - after several months or even after more than a year, before being sold. The plants are in continuous operation as far as possible: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

For the connection technology in the cheese cellar robots and the intralogistics systems, there are some exciting challenges in this food processing environment. Firstly, it is extremely hygienic, which is why regular cleaning is required, even under high pressure and with aggressive cleaning agents. Secondly: Due to the constant transport of the cheese loaves, the connectors are moved very frequently.

Those responsible at Kaesaro decided to connect the sensors and actuators of the cheese cellar robots and the intralogistics systems using Murrelektronik's F&B Pro series M12 connectors. These are specially designed for use in the food industry.