State-of-the-art technology for the traditional Gebrüder Baldauf cheese dairy
Traditional cheese dairy Gebrüder Baldauf has recently built a new production facility in Goßholz in the Allgäu region of Germany. The goal: to create an environment in which products of the highest quality can be made under sustainable, environmentally-friendly conditions. The associated hygienic air technology was provided by airinotec.
Successful over the course of five generations
The Gebr. Baldauf family business has been making specialty cheeses in the Allgäu region since 1862. After the two dairies reached full capacity due to increasing demand and no longer met the current energy standards, the decision was taken to construct a new building – in Goßholz, the beating heart of the commercial dairy industry in Bavaria. Following a construction period lasting one and a half years, pasture milk, organic pasture milk and organic sheep’s milk have been processed in the new alpine dairy since December 2020. The new facilities will help to bundle the production processes, shorten the transport distances and optimize the levels of energy efficiency.
Three challenging tasks for airinotec
airinotec had overall responsibility for the planning and implementation of the hygienic air technology at the new building. Along with the 3,000 cubic meters of space at the alpine dairy and processing facilities were another 3,000 cubic meters in the cheese dairy store. After the consultation and planning process, the construction finally began in June 2020. The ventilation system was in operation as soon as October. Airinotec was required to manage three key tasks in Goßholz: the air conditioning technology for the process rooms, the air-conditioning of the cheese dairy store, and the process air-conditioning for the heat treatment chambers. These three requirement profiles called for different solutions.
The implementation
The purpose of the heat treatment chambers is to further optimize the quality of the cheese. For this purpose, airinotec installed newly-developed recirculating air hygiene units in a welded stainless steel design which are easy to clean after each production run. Homogeneous and constant indoor conditions are obligatory for cheese storage. To ensure this, a recirculating air hygiene unit (airinotec A-Bloc Pro technology) was developed, which conditions the air as required. According to the specific requirements, it is able to cool, heat, moisten or dehumidify. The air is distributed by the recirculating air hygiene unit using induction nozzles, and therefore ensures uniform indoor conditions. The kicker: the recirculating air hygiene unit can be cleaned automatically.
In the cheese dairy and the processing areas, the hygiene requirements and ensuring greater energy efficiency were also top priorities. As the different rooms had to meet different requirements in terms of the indoor conditions, a ventilation concept with several temperature control zones and individual room control, including separate supply and exhaust air volume flow controllers, was chosen for each area. The ventilation system has a highly-efficient heat recovery system in the form of a cross-flow heat exchanger. Thanks to a sophisticated load management system and energy-efficient plant operation in which the fans are controlled in response to demand, the primary energy requirement has been significantly reduced.
The result: a cheese dairy with air technology which is fit for future generations
Managing Director Georg Baldauf had determined one key goal before the construction began: to present a model for a cheese dairy “which is still able to function just as well in 100 years’ time”. This goal has also been implemented in Goßholz in terms of the hygienic air technology, which contributes to ensuring that Baldauf can continue to supply Germany, the land of cheese, with specialty cheese products which are of consistently high quality and are produced under sustainable conditions.
