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Tillamook: a look inside the plant

There are no secrets to making award-winning cheeses. Just buy the freshest milk and hire the best cheesemakers. Tillamook invites tourists to see the process from an observation deck inside the processing plant.

By James Carper

All dairy products pass through the sensory lab run by Dairy Products Quality Manager Jill Allen in Tillamook, Ore. She and her staff of six evaluate samples from the first and last blocks of cheese from each vat from each production run made here and at a plant in Boardman. They also sample yogurt, which is packaged under license, and ice cream (made by Tillamook). All photos by Lynn Howlett Photography

Head cheesemaker Dale Baumgartner has made cheese for Tillamook for 44 years. He oversees eight cooking vats each holding 53,500 pounds of milk.

Forty-pound blocks of cheese are cut into 1-pound, 2-pound, and 5-pound loaves and 8-ounce deli and 10-ounce snack packages.

From an observation deck at the Tillamook, Ore. facility, visitors can see the cheesemaking process and packaging operation.

Tillamook warehouse — The warehouse accommodates 8,000 pallets conventionally and 15,000 pallets in a high-rise automated storage and retrieval system.

At A Glance

Tillamook County Creamery Association, Tillamook, Ore.

Interstate Milk Shipper Plant 030: IMS Ratings — 90% raw milk, 90% enforcement (July 2012)

History: The plant was built in 1949. A whey powder plant was added in 1979 and expanded in 1995. The cold storage capacity was expanded in 1984. In the 1990s, cheese manufacturing and packaging capacities were expanded and automated. In 2000, Tillamook added an Automated Storage and Retrieval System automated warehouse. Last year saw the start of facility upgrades, including a starter room and CIP room and new locker rooms and a centralized break room for production employees.

Size: 307,990 square feet

Employees: About 500 (production and non-production). The facility has three shifts.

Products made: Cheese, ice cream and dry sweet whey powder

Processing capacity: About 1.5 million pounds of milk daily

Storage silos: Five 25,000-gallon silos and three 30,000-gallon silos for cheese production. For ice cream production, there are two 10,000-gallon cream silos.

Lines: One cheesemaking line (40-pound blocks); four cheese packaging lines (various weights and cuts); two ice cream filling lines (56-ounce cartons and 3-gallon tubs); one whey manufacturing line (25-kilogram bags)

Warehouse: 8,000 pallets conventional and 15,000 pallets in a high-rise automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS). There are approximately 21,000 pallet positions, from 650 in cold storage pick bays to 5,600 pallets specifically used for 40-pound blocks. A refrigerated staging area for shipping has seven bays.