Aldanondo automates its cheese production centre using RFID technology

Aldanondo Corporación Alimentaria is a cheese manufacturer with a history dating back more than 50 years. It is now the main cheese manufacturer with Idiazábal denomination of origin, although in recent years, its activity has spread to other denominations and cheese types from the Cantabrian coast, such as Roncal, Arzúa-Ulloa and Tetilla. In 2009, the company set up its major bid: the Salvatierra production centre in Álava, with a capacity of 6,000 tonnes of cheese per annum, equipped with the most advanced technologies in the field of production as well as that of computing. “This plant was conceived to provide a response to major distribution needs. Thus, the master briefing for design of this factory was to create the most automated factory possible, with the most advanced technology in each one of the processes of our business”, remarked Mikel Aldanondo. Aldanondo chose RFID technology to achieve total traceability both of its different processes in the field of production, as well as that of storage and maturity. “Thanks to RFID, we are able to know and control the maturing process of our cheeses”, adds Mikel Aldanondo. “It is the actual system that informs us of the times established for each batch or pallet, so it is not necessary to assign additional resources. We are also certain that none of our cheeses will remain in our refrigerators one minute more or less than necessary”. On his part, Fran Manzano, the Manager of Igarle, the company that developed the ERP called Nucleo, remarks that “the number one object pursued at this plant was to guarantee one hundred per cent product traceability. Our ERP manages all the processes: from the milk supplies, the laboratory data to analyse it, settling payments to farmers and the whole of the production process. We also had to seek the most efficient manner of using the RFID in the industrial process, from the moment of moulding until leaving the curing warehouse; and we have achieved it”. On one hand, the Nucleo ERP gathers data from the commercial department and issues manufacturing orders according to the production master plan (product type, formulas) and, on the other, it gathers all the data from the automatons, such as pressure, temperature and other technical characteristics associated with the batch to perform complete traceability of the process. “The RFID margin of error is zero  – continues Aldanondo-. The RFID provides us a guarantee that the information that reaches us from the production processes is totally reliable. It allows us to manage much more information and also much more precisely”.