Its Burnie plant in northern Tasmania has been upgraded to process up to 110 million litres of milk a year into parmesan, brie and camembert.
Lion dairy and drinks managing director Peter West said robots pack the cheese to send to Australian and burgeoning Asian markets.
«It’s probably the most stainless steel in one location, if you can imagine something being put into a box fully done by robots, put in a pallet by robots,» he said.
«It’s just amazing technology the whole way through.
«What Lion has done is we’ve set up a separate business unit, Lion Asia Dairy. We’re about exporting Australian produce into Asia.
«What we weren’t able to do in the past is have the volume to be able to meet that demand. Now it gives us the opportunity to do that.»
Cheese factory site manager Todd Clarke said the $150 million upgrade had taken about five years to implement.
«Part of the business case was about consolidating our cheese facilities around Australia,» Mr Clarke said.
«Instead of investing in many, invest in few and invest well.»
Much of the speciality processing equipment has been supplied by a German company.
Mr Clarke said the factory would employ between 250 and 280 people, depending on seasonal demand.
«There is a lot of robotic equipment, but there are some manual processes around, plus, as the demand grows, we’re running multiple shifts,» he said.
Lion closed eight factories across mainland Australia when it shifted its focus on upgrading the cheese factory in Burnie.
The factory produces about 11,000 tonnes of premium cheeses every year, which makes up almost 30 per cent of total specialty cheese sales in the Australian grocery sector.
Currently only 5 per cent of Lion’s total Australian specialty cheese production is heading into Asian markets.
«Up until 12 months ago it wasn’t a focus, but as we forecast growth we are looking for it to be a higher proportion,» he said.
«You have to get the building blocks in place, which is the right local partners, if you can do that you can unlock thousands of stores and that’s really been the focus over the last twelve months.
«We’ve got pockets of great examples of that work, so in Singapore we are the market leader in yoghurt, the number one brand in the market is Yoplait, which is our number one brand here.
Cheese maker and farmers welcome the $150m upgrade
The head cheese maker at Lion’s specialty cheese factory in Burnie said new robotic equipment has improved consistency in quality.
The largely automated factory pumps out 11,000 tonnes of Ueli Berger’s meticulously crafted brie and camembert every year.
«A lot of people think that because you have all of this automation, you lose your art or feeling for it,» Mr Berger said.
«But I still need that, I still go every morning into the maturing room smell and feel the cheese, and then go back to the cheese maker to say how we could adjust the machines.
Lion’s suppliers have welcomed the plant upgrade.
About 62 farmers supply the 80 million litres of milk processed at the plant into high-end cheeses, including the South Cape and Tasmanian Heritage brands.
Chairman of the Tasmanian Suppliers Collective Bargaining Group Kem Perkins, of Latrobe, said the investment should be met with a continued reasonable milk price.
«Every part of the supply chain needs to make money, and share it, farmers are the first base and they need their share of the price,» he said.
Lion has the largest share of the specialty cheese market in Australia, which includes brands such as Tasmanian Heritage, South Cape and Mersey Valley.
Source: ABC