Cheese from the Tatra mountains

Savencia Fromage & Dairy, Inc. has been operating in the Czech and Slovak Republics since 1993. Today, as a result of the unique quality and unmistakable taste of its products, the company is the market leader in the cheese and dairy specialities segment. Mr Tomáš Čierny, the Industrial Director of the group’s dairy in Liptovský Mikuláš, talks about its development, product range and current activities.

Savencia Fromage & Dairy Group is one of the leading milk processors and the biggest brand cheese maker in the world. With an annual turnover of €4.4 billion, the group employs over 18,000 people in 28 countries. Its position in the Czech and Slovak Republics is strong – it operates three production facilities with 21,000 people and continuously invests in improved parameters and increased capacity.

Production in Slovakia has a long tradition going back to 1943. In the early 1970s a new dairy plant was built in Liptovský Mikuláš, commissioned six years later, which is still the headquarters of today’s – much changed – company. After 1989, the company changed owners several times, with the latest such change completed in 2000 when it was acquired by the Bongrain Group (today Savencia Fromage & Dairy SK, a.s.). The new owner shifted the company’s focus to the production of cheese – mainly steamed and pressed cheese and bryndza (traditional Slovak sheep cheese).

“Fully in line with the philosophy of the group, the dairy retained its traditional, local Slovak products, closely associated with the Liptov brand, which is the main brand of our current portfolio. Our dairy is proof that even within a large multinational group, the unique character of local products may be preserved,” says Tomáš Čierny.

Quality from the mountains

The dairy in Liptovský Mikuláš specialises in the production of traditional Slovak cheeses, bryndza, pressed cheeses and butter of the Liptov brand – a traditional brand evoking the high quality of milk from the Tatra mountains. “That is one of the reasons why we want to further develop the company to increase its share in the Czech and Slovak markets, where the brand has a very strong position. However, the Liptov products have a stable position in other countries too, such as Hungary, Romania, Germany and France, under the international brands of Milkana and P´tit Louis,” says the director. “All our products meet the highest quality requirements. Our key products are steamed cheeses, the popularity of which has been increasing not only in Slovakia and the Czech Republic but also in Germany and France.”

The dairy processes sheep and cow’s milk up to the final product using four distinct processes (bryndza, butter, steamed and pressed cheeses). Investment in technologies is an important pre-requisite to staying competitive and is fully supported by the group. Every year substantial sums are invested in improving the hygiene criteria, increasing production capacity and also in the modernisation of the treatment stations to reduce the amount of chemicals and to reduce the environmental footprint.

“Our suppliers are based primarily in the mountain regions of Liptov and Orava, the regions with the highest quality of milk. However, the top quality of products also requires a top quality production process. Our philosophy is to set the hygiene and quality standards significantly above the legislative requirements – something not every dairy may be able to afford due to increased costs. We have defined special standards for each product and each process, allowing for only minimum deviations to ensure repeatability,” explains Tomáš Čierny. The objective is to make a high quality product while maintaining its specific characteristics.

market leader

“Over 60 per cent of dairy products consumed in Slovakia are imported, which has a significant impact on local producers. Often, subsidised, sometimes low quality cheeses are imported with lower prices. In Slovakia, price is still an important factor for customers, sometimes more important than the origin or quality,” admits the director. Still, quality is the attribute that has helped forge the company’s position and it will remain the top priority. It is its high quality standards that have allowed the company to penetrate new markets – almost one third of its output is exported to the Czech Republic, Germany, France, Hungary and Romania.

When asked about new investments, Tomáš Čierny replies that at the moment, the key priority is to further develop the current portfolio. “Our dairy is going to work on improving the portfolio of steamed cheeses, bryndza, butter and pressed cheeses. We want to be specialists and leaders in all of the product categories that are made in our plant, therefore the investment is directed towards improving current technologies to enhance efficiency and increase capacity, simplify the production processes and remove some of the manual activities. This is our plan for the future. It is not our intention to focus on expansion and the introduction of new products: we want to remain a specialist, because this is the way to be the best in our category,” he explains.

In the near future the company is going to strengthen its export potential and will invest in new packaging machines to make sure the products are competitive in their export markets. Although the dairy in Liptovský Mikuláš is a member of the French Savencia Group, the delicacies from the north of Slovakia keep their specific characteristics as well as flavour. According to the director, even today they represent the pinnacle of quality dairy products from the Tatra region. And will continue to do so... n