28,000 litres of skyr! This is how much can be made in each production once these tanks are installed at Arla Foods in Hobro, Denmark.

28,000 litres is probably a little over the top for a single breakfast meal, but on the other hand it is a very suitable portion when Arla Foods in Hobro, Denmark, is to produce and deliver skyr to supermarkets and breakfast tables throughout Denmark.

LP Kolding delivers tanks and agitators for the production, but these only constitute part of the entire production facility. Therefore, we cooperate closely with other suppliers to deliver a complete, functional solution to Arla Foods rather than delivering several different parts separately.

Another benefit from a close cooperation between the customer and all of us suppliers is that we can bring our knowhow into play early in the process in relation to the finished solution. This way all parts are optimised.

Hygiene is decisive for quality

Skyr is a product which is very rich in protein. This gives it some particular nutritional properties, but the many proteins also mean that very strict hygienical requirements apply.

Small traces of protein, which are not flushed when the facility is cleaned, may act as nutrition for fungi and bacteria. With a 28,000-litre skyr production in each facility, it is obvious that every single production must be free from error to avoid wasting time, money and resources.

At LP Kolding, this means that in our design of tanks and agitators we focus on ensuring that there are no “blind spots” which cannot be washed clean. All tanks have CIP – Cleaning In Place – and all welding work is completely smooth, leaving no place for small traces to hide.

Very simply put, the production involves taking 34,000 litres of skimmed milk and adding bacterial cultures of an amount corresponding to what would fit into a box of matches. It is then all mixed in the tank to disperse the bacteria. Then the fermentation process begins. Once the skyr is sufficiently fermented, the agitator is started back up to make sure that the so-called coagulum is broken and that the entire content is stirred into a homogeneous mass. Then the excess water must be removed. This is done in an ultrafiltration facility – a UF facility – in which the skyr becomes concentrated.

The finished skyr is now led into buffer tanks which can hold the remaining 28,000 litres of skyr. At this point, the product has gone from a very fluid texture to the viscous, creamy texture for which the finished product is known. The viscous texture, which is to be stirred in other tanks, places completely different demands on agitators than skimmed milk. The agitators must stir the mass well, so that it is completely homogeneous before it reaches your breakfast table – for this purpose we have designed a UZ profile.

Bon appetit!