Local pasture-fed cows produce such good milk that it will soon be processed into cheddar and gouda at a R4-million cheese factory nearing completion at Sundale Dairy.
The plant will have a capacity to turn 700000 litres of milk into seven tons of cheese each month.
Production at its state-of-the art plant at the East London Development Zone (IDZ) will begin on December 1, according to Sundale CEO Pierre van Rensburg.
The cheese factory will eventually also manufacture mozzarella and provide 30 new jobs, in addition to the 420 people Sundale already employs.
The sophisticated dairy, which has its roots at Van Rensburg’s parents’ farm in Kei Road in the 1980s, has also spent R8-million on a water recycling plant.
And, adding to its triumphs, Sundale’s traditionally churned old-school butter recently received the Woolworths stamp of approval and will join the containers of cream it already supplies the national retail giant.
“We also supply Pick n Pay and Checkers nationwide and our cream is used in Ina Paarman sauces, so being recognised by the top end of the market is great.”
Van Rensburg, who spent his school and university holidays sharpening his skills in all aspects of his family’s dairy, said its success was due largely to the quality of local milk.
“All our milk comes from farms in a 50km perimeter of the dairy, between Kaysers and Thornvlei. Using local milk is very important because the colour of our butter and cream are a golden creamy yellow and it’s all due to our green pastures.
“The butter you find in Johannesburg is white so they have to colour it because there is no grass up-country and so the cows are fed from bags.”
Sundale’s new water recycling system pumps the water it uses to clean its factory floors, trucks and stainless steel pipes, through an effluent plant and other treatment processes, and pumps it back to be re-used in its scrupulous cleaning procedures.
“We use 300000 litres of water a day. We were cleaning it and putting it into the municipal system and it was being pumped out to sea which was an absolute waste.
“We are concerned about the sustainability of water in our country and we also don’t want to waste money.
“Our water bill was between R200000 and R300000 per month and it’s now about half that. I don’t know of another dairy that does what we do.”
Van Rensburg, whose accountant wife, Sharna, is the dairy’s chief financial officer, said Sundale – previously known as Sunningdale – had come a long way since his parents Neil and Sandi milked their cows, loaded their bakkie and delivered fresh milk to Zwelitsha, Bhisho and Frankfort.
Dairy’s aim to be a big cheese
The plant will have a capacity to turn 700000 litres of milk into seven tons of cheese each month.
Production at its state-of-the art plant at the East London Development Zone (IDZ) will begin on December 1, according to Sundale CEO Pierre van Rensburg.
The cheese factory will eventually also manufacture mozzarella and provide 30 new jobs, in addition to the 420 people Sundale already employs.
The sophisticated dairy, which has its roots at Van Rensburg’s parents’ farm in Kei Road in the 1980s, has also spent R8-million on a water recycling plant.
And, adding to its triumphs, Sundale’s traditionally churned old-school butter recently received the Woolworths stamp of approval and will join the containers of cream it already supplies the national retail giant.
“We also supply Pick n Pay and Checkers nationwide and our cream is used in Ina Paarman sauces, so being recognised by the top end of the market is great.”
Van Rensburg, who spent his school and university holidays sharpening his skills in all aspects of his family’s dairy, said its success was due largely to the quality of local milk.
“All our milk comes from farms in a 50km perimeter of the dairy, between Kaysers and Thornvlei. Using local milk is very important because the colour of our butter and cream are a golden creamy yellow and it’s all due to our green pastures.
“The butter you find in Johannesburg is white so they have to colour it because there is no grass up-country and so the cows are fed from bags.”
Sundale’s new water recycling system pumps the water it uses to clean its factory floors, trucks and stainless steel pipes, through an effluent plant and other treatment processes, and pumps it back to be re-used in its scrupulous cleaning procedures.
“We use 300000 litres of water a day. We were cleaning it and putting it into the municipal system and it was being pumped out to sea which was an absolute waste.
“We are concerned about the sustainability of water in our country and we also don’t want to waste money.
“Our water bill was between R200000 and R300000 per month and it’s now about half that. I don’t know of another dairy that does what we do.”
Van Rensburg, whose accountant wife, Sharna, is the dairy’s chief financial officer, said Sundale – previously known as Sunningdale – had come a long way since his parents Neil and Sandi milked their cows, loaded their bakkie and delivered fresh milk to Zwelitsha, Bhisho and Frankfort.
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