That included investing in a MasoSine Certa pump from Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Group (WMFTG).
Lawrence Reynolds and his wife began developing cheese in 2014 as a hobby after attending a cheese-making course. The pair took their cheese to a few potential outlets, including the local pub – The Mariners in Rock – which at the time was in partnership with high-profile Michelin-starred chef Nathan Outlaw. Within a month of presenting the cheese, it was part of the menu.
The demand for our cheese soon outpaced what we could produce,” says Reynolds. “Chefs were buying it from retailers at full price just to get hold of some.”
To expand, Padstow Cheese took up a unit in 2019 that Reynolds converted into a dairy. He recalls:“We went from a 600-litre vat operation, to 2,000 litres, and began producing cheese more days a week, essentially quadrupling our output,” he says.
“To produce our cheese, we originally had an off-the-shelf centrifugal pump with two speeds: on and off,” explains Reynolds. “Due to its lack of control and aggressive nature, the centrifugal pump created a lot of foam and air bubbles, which is detrimental to quality. In addition, the pump would damage the curd with its ‘chopping’ action.”
The company’s process took a major step forward with the introduction of a prepress, and Reynolds knew that a better pump would be a perfect complement to this new equipment.
“We needed a better pump, not just to pump the milk into the curdling tank, but to transfer the curd from the vat to the prepress,” says Reynolds. “Our research led us to WMFTG and others from overseas. However, WMFTG were great from day one. It listened to our requirements and took a real interest, despite our operation being much smaller than the large dairies it is more familiar with serving. It helped specify the right pump in terms of its size and speed capabilities.”
To help Padstow Cheese confirm the capabilities of its proposed investment, WMFTG supplied a loan pump in October 2020: a MasoSine Certa 200 complete with samples of 2” diameter Aflex FaBLINE hose.
“Within a month we knew that the Certa 200 was perfect for our needs, so we placed an order,” says Reynolds. “The product transfer is extremely gentle, while we also get far less aeration. In addition, by pumping through the hose we can spread the curd evenly as it fills up the prepress.”
By introducing a Certa pump, the company has also decreased the amount of fines in its cheeses, in turn increasing yield. By the very nature of their operation, certain pump types will break curd into fines. The generation of cheese fines is in direct relation to production loss, which means plants produce less cheese from a certain quantity of milk.
“We haven’t calculated it accurately, but I estimate that our yield is up by at least 8-10%,” states Reynolds. “In addition, wastage is down and process speed has increased because the Certa is more efficient at transferring both milk and curd. The pump, in combination with FaBLINE hoses, is saving 90 minutes a day in production time.”