174 S. Bolwig et al.
product portfolio to the regional market. The decrease in the number of
dairies between 1900 and 1990 was accompanied by an increase in the size of
regional dairies. Since the introduction of the TINE brand in 1992, restructuring has been associated not only with larger dairies but also with a higher
degree of specialisation. Today, TINE has 31 dairies (TINE, 2018c) and no
ambition to produce the entire product portfolio at each dairy. Instead, the
company operates a complicated logistical system where intermediate products are transported between dairies and end products are transported from
dairies to regional and central warehouses.
Yet TINE is more than a processor of milk. As mentioned, transport and
storage logistics are important parts of the company. There are also strong connections upstream in the value chain back to the farms. This is emphasised in
TINE’s contribution to R&D within animal health and milk production especially, which focuses on a strong relationship with the Norwegian University
of Life Sciences and with other Norwegian universities and research centres.
9.3.2 Utilisation of acid whey in Norway
The ‘discovery’ of large streams of by- products such as acid whey has been a
consequence of the restructuring and specialisation of Norwegian dairies since
the early 1990s. When each dairy still produced a great variety of products,
the amount of each type of by- product was small and easy to handle through
wastewater treatment. The moment cottage cheese and Greek yoghurt were
produced at a single facility, at the same time as the demand for these products grew tremendously, the volume and spatial concentration of acid whey
also increased and became difficult to handle.
TINE is one of the main suppliers of Greek yoghurt and cottage cheese in
Norway and is therefore also a major producer of acid whey. Because of the
rising volumes of acid whey, adding value to this by- product has become a
new focus area for TINE. TINE produces several thousand tons of acid whey
each year, which come mainly from one of its 31 dairies, located in southern
Norway. It has been a challenge for TINE to handle the increasing volumes
of acid whey because it cannot be treated or used in the same way as sweet
whey. Today, acid whey is mainly used in low- value applications, namely
directly as animal feed (to pigs) and biogas production. Acid whey can be
used in the production of piglet feed, and can obtain a rather high price per
kg dry matter, but no Norwegian dairies sell acid whey to feed producers
(interview with feed producer). This is probably because it is not deemed
profitable given the investment costs and control of processing needed to
make a raw material suitable for the feed industry.
TINE delivers free acid whey directly to farmers, who pay half of the
transport costs. Another dairy company in Norway also delivers acid whey to
farms, with a more stable chemical composition and more dry matter, which
the farmers pay for. A reason for this difference is that TINE makes both
cottage cheese and Greek yoghurt, which tends to give more variation in acid
product portfolio to the regional market. The decrease in the number of
dairies between 1900 and 1990 was accompanied by an increase in the size of
regional dairies. Since the introduction of the TINE brand in 1992, restructuring has been associated not only with larger dairies but also with a higher
degree of specialisation. Today, TINE has 31 dairies (TINE, 2018c) and no
ambition to produce the entire product portfolio at each dairy. Instead, the
company operates a complicated logistical system where intermediate products are transported between dairies and end products are transported from
dairies to regional and central warehouses.
Yet TINE is more than a processor of milk. As mentioned, transport and
storage logistics are important parts of the company. There are also strong connections upstream in the value chain back to the farms. This is emphasised in
TINE’s contribution to R&D within animal health and milk production especially, which focuses on a strong relationship with the Norwegian University
of Life Sciences and with other Norwegian universities and research centres.
9.3.2 Utilisation of acid whey in Norway
The ‘discovery’ of large streams of by- products such as acid whey has been a
consequence of the restructuring and specialisation of Norwegian dairies since
the early 1990s. When each dairy still produced a great variety of products,
the amount of each type of by- product was small and easy to handle through
wastewater treatment. The moment cottage cheese and Greek yoghurt were
produced at a single facility, at the same time as the demand for these products grew tremendously, the volume and spatial concentration of acid whey
also increased and became difficult to handle.
TINE is one of the main suppliers of Greek yoghurt and cottage cheese in
Norway and is therefore also a major producer of acid whey. Because of the
rising volumes of acid whey, adding value to this by- product has become a
new focus area for TINE. TINE produces several thousand tons of acid whey
each year, which come mainly from one of its 31 dairies, located in southern
Norway. It has been a challenge for TINE to handle the increasing volumes
of acid whey because it cannot be treated or used in the same way as sweet
whey. Today, acid whey is mainly used in low- value applications, namely
directly as animal feed (to pigs) and biogas production. Acid whey can be
used in the production of piglet feed, and can obtain a rather high price per
kg dry matter, but no Norwegian dairies sell acid whey to feed producers
(interview with feed producer). This is probably because it is not deemed
profitable given the investment costs and control of processing needed to
make a raw material suitable for the feed industry.
TINE delivers free acid whey directly to farmers, who pay half of the
transport costs. Another dairy company in Norway also delivers acid whey to
farms, with a more stable chemical composition and more dry matter, which
the farmers pay for. A reason for this difference is that TINE makes both
cottage cheese and Greek yoghurt, which tends to give more variation in acid