Pine River Cheese has a lot to celebrate.
The cheese and butter co-operative, located south of Kincardine on Highway 21, is 125 years old, and has received a $100,000 grant from the provincial government to develop products and expand its business.
Huron-Bruce MPP Carol Mitchell was on hand Thursday afternoon (March 18), to congratulate the company and present its new general manager, Vijay Kumar, with a certificate from the government, acknowledging the 125 years of achievement.
"This is quite a milestone," she said, "125 years of hard work and determination, resulting in continued success in Bruce County."
Mitchell said she has fond memories of travelling with her grandfather on his annual journey to pick up his stockpile of Pine River cheese.
"He said, you never buy cheese before the first heavy frost, and he never bought his cheese anywhere but here," she said. "I still purchase my cheese at Pine River, but not once a year. It's a local product and it tastes good."
Mitchell was also pleased to announce the $100,000 grant through the Rural Economic Development (RED) initiative which will help Pine River Cheese grow and expand.
Kumar said the money is being used to convert the company's cheese 'trims and ends' into new products. Using a piece of equipment called an extruder, workers are creating "cheese snackers" - pieces of cheese in a variety of shapes. The extruder was installed in February.
"With this equipment, product development, trials and training, we reduce waste, innovate with new products and create added-value jobs in the community," said Kumar.
Three highly-skilled people will be working on this project, he said, concentrating on the new product and marketing it.
"We'll give Quebec a run for its money," said Kumar. "It's number one right now, but we'll make Ontario stronger."
He said Pine River Cheese makes 134 different kinds of cheese. With the processing of trims, the company will be processing seven million litres of milk per year, up from six million litres.
Kumar took Mitchell and the press on a guided tour through the cheese factory and the packaging area.
The pasteurized milk is put in bulk tanks and then through 16 stages to become cheese, he said. It takes about 1,000 litres of milk to make 100 kilograms of cheese, depending on the kind of cheese.
Agitators stir up the milk, separating the curds from the whey. The curds are put into 40-pound hoops and pressed and aged the appropriate time for the type of cheese, said Kumar. Then it's off to the extruder which creates the various blocks and shapes of cheese, and then to the packaging area.
Attached to the cheese factory is a retail store where the cheese and a variety of other products are sold.
Kumar is the new man on the team, arriving Dec. 14, 2009. He replaces Bill Rutledge who is now in charge of special products.
"We were looking for somebody with new, fresh ideas to expand the market," said board chairman Paul Harris. "Bill's plate was getting full and we needed to get him some help.
Originally from India, Kumar lived in the Middle East before coming to Canada 12 years ago. "This is the greatest country in the world," he said. "You have such freedom and opportunities."
He and his family live in Mississauga but are moving to Point Clark. He has worked for such companies as Kraft and Robin Hood flour, with experience in sales and marketing. He has an MBA in business and engineering, and applied for the job because he likes to help turn companies around.
Kumar is proud to be part of this 125-year-old organization which is still going strong even after the plant was destroyed in a fire in 1983.
"Pine River Cheese is one of the last few farmer-owned dairy co-operatives in Ontario and is unique in making cheese from real milk," he said, adding that it offers a variety of flavours and innovative products.
"The co-operative's main strength is the dedicated team of 47 who work with passion, creating some of the finest cheese in Ontario," he said. "This is a great example of value addition and development in a rural area. The production unit is located on a 65-acre picturesque plot that looks on to the tall windmills of the Ripley project and has Lake Huron behind the plant."