Royal A-Ware

Bolidt News

royal a-ware

Headquartered in Almere, the Netherlands, Royal A-ware specialises in the production, ripening, cutting, packaging and sale of cheese as well as cream and fresh dairy products. In 2016, the family-owned company– one of four finalists for the Family Business Award 2017 – achieved a €1.2 billion turnover. The dairy producer has made significant investments in its production capacity in recent years. In Heerenveen, Royal A-ware opened a new cheese plant, which accounts for half of its total cheese production. To be able to make all the cheeses, many litres of fresh milk are delivered daily to the milk unloading bays of the Heerenveen plant. The flooring in this area has to withstand extreme conditions. That is why Royal A-ware chose the Bolidtop^® 700 system: a frost-proof and non-slip synthetic floor finish resistant to the weight of tank lorries and the acidity from milk or dairy products that may spill during loading and unloading. In short, the best choice for the cheese plant.

Unloading large quantities of milk

Over the past few years, Royal A-ware has invested substantially in its production capacity. In 2015, the dairy company opened a new cheese plant in Heerenveen, where it makes 80,000 to 100,000 tonnes of cheese a year using dozens of authentic recipes. Royal A-ware equipped the plant with the latest technology and eco-friendly machinery to limit the use of energy and water.

The basic ingredient for the cheeses that Royal A-ware makes in Heerenveen is the milk supplied by dairy farmers in the north of the Netherlands. The cheese plant includes a milk reception area where tankers unload large quantities of milk every day. As the unloading bays in this area are very heavily used, the flooring here needs to be resistant to the constant stream of heavy tankers coming and going and to the tubing and hoses that are used.

All weathers 

For the milk unloading area, Royal A-ware selected flooring from Bolidt, given the extensive experience of Bolidt in developing, producing and installing floor finishes in the dairy industry. Previously, Bolidt supplied comparable floor finishes for the milk unloading bays of various other dairy producers. These still meet all the requirements. DOC Kaas in Hoogeveen, for instance, is still very satisfied with the delivered floor finish. 

For Royal A-ware, safety and hygiene are of critical importance to the production process. The milk unloading area also plays a key role in this. The dairy producer chose the Bolidtop^® 700 flooring from Bolidt for the milk unloading bays in Heerenveen. It is dirt repellent, pore free, seamless and extremely safe.

The floor finish is and remains slip resistant, even in wet conditions. Lorry drivers do not have to worry about slipping when getting out of their vehicle. The flooring system is additionally resistant to harsh conditions. The synthetic flooring cannot only withstand the weight of lorries, but also the acidity from the milk or dairy products that may spill during loading and unloading. The flooring is, moreover, frost proof. This is an important specification as the milk unloading bays are located outdoors and unloading takes place in all weathers.

Right next to A-ware’s cheese plant in Heerenveen is an ingredients plant owned by Fonterra. This is not entirely coincidental: both companies work closely together. The whey left over from the cheese making process in Royal A-ware’s plant is processed by Fonterra, in the adjacent plant, into specialty ingredients used in infant, geriatric and sports nutrition products. Interesting fact: Bolidt has also installed the flooring in the Fonterra plant.