Case Study

OSM Kosów Lacki and Bizerba: 100-year tradition supported by modern technology

OSM Kosów Lacki has been producing cheese, cottage cheese and butter of the highest quality for nearly 100 years. The plant combines tradition with modern Bizerba systems that support the production and labeling processes.

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OSM Kosów Lacki and Bizerba: 100-year tradition supported by modern technology

he District Dairy Cooperative in Kosow Lacki is one of the oldest and highly ranked among the largest cooperatives in Poland, operating for 100 years. It was founded in 1926 with the initial purpose of only producing butter and selling milk from farmers living in the nearby area of Kosow Lacki. Thanks to the collective commitment of the cooperative's members, the company is growing rapidly and expanding its portfolio with new products. Thanks to these efforts, the OSM Kosów Lacki brand is thriving, and recent investments in infrastructure, technology and modern production lines - financed, among other things, with EU funds - allow the company to maintain the high quality of its products and increase their availability on the domestic and foreign markets.

Company

OSM Kosów Lacki

OSM Kosów Lacki is a medium-sized dairy cooperative, employing about 170 workers and processing an average of 63 million liters of milk per year, with an annual revenue of about PLN 200 million. OSM Kosów brand products combine tradition, naturalness and the highest quality, being made from milk from cows grazing in the Nadbuzanski Landscape Park, among other areas. The cooperative produces Swiss-Dutch, Dutch, cottage cheese and butter, and in recent years has also introduced spiced, smoked and long-ripened cheeses. The products are made by hand, according to traditional recipes, with no added dyes or preservatives, as confirmed by the prestigious "Quality Tradition" certificate.

170 employees
63 million liters of milk per year
approx. 200 million revenue per year
1 location, Kosow Lacki, Poland

More information

OSM Kosów Lacki

Collaboration

Beginnings of OSM Kosów Lacki's cooperation with Bizerba

The first Bizerba GLPmaxx 80 label printers with weighbridge appeared at OSM Kosów Lacki in 2013. For that moment, the printers proved to be a sufficient solution. However, over the years, cheese production increased, and thus the need for modern technology and expansion of production lines increased. OSM Kosów Lacki has been investing heavily in the development of its plant since 2017. Investments included the construction of a dairy warehouse and a production and social area. Subsequently, the dairy cooperative purchased a modern cottage cheese packaging machine with a GLM-Emaxx 50 1B weighing and labeling machine and a GLPmaxx 80 printer, a cheese packaging line with an A560 industrial slicer and a GLM-Ievo 70 1B weighing and labeling machine. The dairy cooperative also invested in a cheese-making line with increased capacity to produce cheese in the form of Euroblocks, which involved the purchase of another GLM-Ievo 40 1T weighing and labeling machine.

Portfolio

Yellow, long-ripened, Dutch, smoked cheeses and cottage cheese

OSM Kosów Lacki produces maturing cheeses of the following types: Swiss-Dutch (Edamer, Baron, Lackdamer), Dutch (Gouda, Edamski, Podlaski, Zamojski, Morski, Gouda Lacka with Holes) and smoked cheeses (Jubilat and Gouda Wędzona). For the physically active and health-conscious, we recommend Fitness, Pro-Health and Light cheeses. A new addition to the range is the Magnal Old long-ripening cheese, awarded a silver medal in the Good Cheese 2022 competition.

Challenge

Modernity forcing changes in the dairy market

The plant's biggest motivation for investing in machinery is greater purchasing dynamics and greater capacity. OSM Kosów Lacki is moving with the times, betting on a modern production facility, creating comfortable working conditions and putting its staff and employees' needs first.

Special emphasis on pre-packaged goods

In the dairy sector, special demands are placed on prepackaged goods. On the packaging line for fixed-weight products, Bizerba's weighing and labeling system, equipped with a weight control system, continuously checks the net weight of each package to ensure compliance with legal requirements for prepackaged goods.

Flexibility in the choice of labels and labeling method

The most important criteria in selecting equipment are the operating range of the machine, the weighing range, and the ability to use different label and counter label formats depending on the needs of the plant and the expectations of customers.

Demanding end customers

Increasingly demanding end customers, such as retail chains, have their own expectations beyond standard food labeling regulations. Bizerba's systems support the dairy plant in meeting these increasingly high customer demands, speeding up order fulfillment and significantly increasing the efficiency of the weighing process.

Solution

Bizerba technologies - comprehensive support for weighing, labeling and packaging processes

Weighing, labeling, confectioning - Bizerba as a reliable partner

Bizerba solutions work at OSM Kosów Lacki in all departments where processes such as weighing and labeling of products are crucial. Bizerba systems work primarily in the cottage cheese plant (the cottage cheese production department), the cheese balancing department (the department for weighing cheeses before packaging, portioning, and labeling), and the cheese slicing department (the department for preparing the product for sale).

Bizerba systems have been tailored to meet the specific needs of the dairy cooperative. In the cheese packing department, where fixed-weight portions are weighed, Bizerba systems and software enable the collection of production data, generation of analysis, trend tracking and detailed statistics on the weighing of packaged products.

Service availability, efficient installation and training

After each purchase and during the commissioning of the systems, Bizerba's service department thoroughly trained staff in the operation of the equipment. Maciej Hermanowski, service technician at Bizerba Poland, deserves a special mention: "We appreciate Mr. Maciej's availability, quick response to our needs, and remote support and telephone consultations at any time. His vast knowledge and service experience enable him to eliminate downtime quickly," says Joanna Zawisza, Chief Technologist.

Benefits

A new level of production with Bizerba systems

Goals achieved, new challenges

"We have achieved the goals we set for ourselves in production, but we are not resting on our laurels. We are working on a new project to purchase new equipment and integrate it into one coherent system. This way we want to acquire, analyze and report production data and accurately account for production," says Joanna Zawisza, Chief Technologist.

Demanding end customers

Increasingly demanding end customers, such as retail chains, have their own expectations beyond standard food labeling regulations. Bizerba's systems support the dairy plant in responding to the increasingly high demands and expectations of customers. The weighing and labeling systems speed up order processing and significantly increase the efficiency of the weighing process.

OSM Kosów Lacki in numbers

employees

0 million liters

milk per year

0 million

revenue per year

location

“We are pinning our hopes and expectations for further development on proven partners, such as Bizerba, among others, with whom we cooperate in the supply of equipment and technology.”

Andrzej Minarczuk

President of the Board of Directors of OSM Kosów Lacki

“We have achieved the set goals in production, but we are not resting on our laurels. We are working on a new project to purchase equipment and integrate it into one coherent system, which will allow us to acquire, analyze and report data and accurately account for the production process.”

Joanna Zawisza

Chief Technologist, OSM Kosów Lacki

“For us, cooperation with OSM Kosów Lacki is more than just a business relationship - it is a true partnership. We have achieved a lot of successes together, and today we are talking about more projects.”

Dr Krzysztof Głuch

President of Bizerba Polska Sp. z o.o.