New operator to open FrieslandCampina's cave-cheese factory in Romania after 1-year hiatus

Dairy maker FrieslandCampina Romania will reopen its Taga cheese factory, in Cluj county, which was closed at the beginning of June 2013. The factory will be operated by a different firm, Fabrica de Branzeturi Transilvania, which is controlled by AgroTransilvania Cluster and the Somes-Aries Cooperative. FrieslandCampina will remain the owner of the factory. Under the agreement between FrieslandCampina Romania and Fabrica de Branzeturi Transilvania, the factory will restart the production of the Nasal cheese under the Napolact brand, which is in FrieslandCampina’s portfolio, but that the operator of the factory will be able to produce cheese under its own brands as well. The Taga factory is located in a natural cave dating from the Middle Ages, and allows the manufacturing of several types of cheese in microbiological conditions that are unique in the world. The rock of the cave and the Brevibacterium linens bacteria which developed in it, the constant temperature and humidity, act on the cheeses produced here. The production capacity of the factory is rather small, with some 3,000 liters processed each day. FrieslandCampina is one of the largest dairy producers in Romania and had sales of EUR 80.6 million in 2013 with 522 employees. Andrei Chirileasa, andrei@romania-insider.com