International Order of Open Curd Tables

Sycamore Process Engineering has designed, built, and delivered several Open Curd Tables (OCTs) to effectively perform curd conditioning, whey drainage, curd salting, and mellowing for milled cheddar and stirred type cheeses. Our OCT is constantly under review to continually improve our offering, ensuring customers receive a product that exceeds their every need and expectation.  Our OCTs are a made-to-order listed product; we have five models which vary from external table lengths of 8,750mm to 15,750mm; however, these OCTs can be modified in certain circumstances to be custom built to customer specifications.

Internationalisation, a previously identified opportunity for growth that was delayed due to the pandemic came back into sharp focus recently when we received an enquiry from overseas for the manufacture of four OCTs.

Jerry RedmanManaging Director, Sycamore Process Engineering

Following an order placed in September 2020, we successfully manufactured and shipped four of our Model C OCTs to a customer situated outside of the EU. This was our first major order to be completed for an overseas customer. The Model C tables are equivalent to 35ft (11,750mm), which can typically produce 66-85 20kg blocks of cheese; they are capable of making mild cheeses such as Double Gloucester, Red Leicester, and mild Cheddars. We are particularly proud of this order, with it being in line with our business growth plans to expand manufacturing and sales internationally.

The tables were designed by Sycamore to ensure we offer the best process solution to the customer with an advantage over our competitors in the market. We built the OCTs at our in-house manufacturing facility in Sparkford, Somerset and they were then packed and shipped overseas to the customer in March 2021. The tables were installed at the customer’s facility in June 2021, a large cheese-producing factory that manufactures cheese products sold in over 60 countries worldwide.

To ensure that the customer can optimise the tables to their upmost efficiency, towards the square end of the tables, curd dams were fitted ensuring full whey drainage can be achieved. Alongside the order for four of our OCTs the customer also ordered a Curd Unloader. This Curd Unloader was developed by our design team to be moved into the four unloading positions at the end of each table, ensuring the curd can be delivered to the block formers.

Jerry Redman also commented, “We have learnt quickly and developed skills surrounding trading with overseas customers and can see many opportunities to develop further international trade in the future through a growing portfolio of products including OCTs. This in itself goes such a long way to our goal of increased capacity, capability and sustained manufacturing here in Somerset.”

For more on our OCT’s please see here.