Based in Scarnafigi, in the province of Cuneo, Valgrana S.p.A. operates in the dairy sector and produces Piemontino, a long-aged hard cheese characterised by a delicate and mild flavour, produced without the addition of lysozyme.
The growth in production volumes made it necessary to expand the warehouse dedicated to cheese aging, with the aim of increasing storage capacity while maintaining the environmental conditions required by the product.
To meet this requirement, the company chose ROSSS for the design and installation of a new storage system based on Tree Cheese Down Air racking, developed specifically for the dairy industry and engineered to combine storage capacity, warehouse organisation and controlled microclimate management.
The increase in daily cheese wheel production highlighted the need for a larger and more efficient warehouse.
The project stemmed from specific operational requirements:
In a context such as cheese aging, increasing storage capacity cannot be separated from the quality of the aging process itself. For this reason, the required solution could not simply “store more”, but also had to ensure proper air distribution throughout the entire structure.
For Valgrana S.p.A., ROSSS designed and installed a cheese aging warehouse equipped with Tree Cheese Down Air, able to store more than 230,000 new cheese wheels across an area of approximately 9,000 square metres. This configuration was specifically developed to meet the needs of the dairy industry, where storage capacity, operational continuity and microclimate control must coexist within the same system.
Tree Cheese is the fully bolted seismic-resistant racking system developed by ROSSS for the storage of dairy industry products. Within this product family, the Down Air configuration introduces a more advanced air distribution management system, delivering direct benefits in terms of consistency during the aging process.
The Down Air technology implemented in the Tree Cheese system is an advanced cheese aging solution designed to ensure microclimate control and space optimisation.
In the Down Air configuration, the upright column of the scalera actively contributes to air distribution. Air is channelled through the structure and released from the base through a four-hole outlet positioned in the centre of the footplate.
This configuration helps ensure:
– more controlled microclimatic conditions around the cheese wheels;
– adequate ventilation across the cheese surface.
In a cheese aging warehouse, this aspect is crucial: inadequate ventilation can affect the consistency of the aging process. For this reason, in this project the Down Air system represents not only a capacity solution, but also a functional choice aligned with the product’s specific requirements.
The new automated cheese aging warehouse developed for Valgrana S.p.A. features the following technical specifications:
– Warehouse surface area: 9,000 sqm
– Scalera height: 9.06 metres
– Shelves in height: 24
– Shelf pitch: 33 cm
– Cheese wheels per shelf: 160
– Total cheese wheels: 231,168
These figures clearly show the scale of the project and the level of optimisation required to combine high-density storage with proper aging management.
Thanks to the new cheese aging warehouse, Valgrana S.p.A. now benefits from a facility better suited to growing production volumes and more closely aligned with the operational requirements of its manufacturing process.
The main advantages of the Tree Cheese Down Air system include:
More than a simple capacity expansion, the true value of the project lies in its ability to integrate quantitative and qualitative requirements within a single storage system.
The project developed for Valgrana S.p.A. proves how a storage system designed around the actual operational context can support complex production requirements in the dairy sector. When a cheese aging warehouse needs to increase capacity, operational organisation and environmental control, the choice of racking system directly impacts the overall functionality of the facility.
ROSSS develops storage solutions for the dairy industry with a technical approach focused on safety, operational continuity and project customisation. If you are considering expanding or reorganising a cheese aging warehouse, we can support you in defining the solution best suited to your facility.
Contact us for a personalised technical consultancy designed around the real operational needs of your installation.
