Pre-Press Carts

Integrated drainage, pre‑pressing, and pressing in a single compact unit to reduce footprint and capital investment The Pre‑Press Carts are multifunctional units designed to consolidate the critical post‑cooking stages of cheese production—whey drainage, pre‑pressing, and final pressing—into a single, compact piece of equipment. This integrated approach significantly reduces plant footprint and overall capital expenditure while improving process consistency. The system centralizes curd handling immediately after heat treatment. The curd is evenly distributed over a perforated drainage table, where initial whey separation occurs through gravity and controlled drainage channels. This uniform distribution ensures consistent moisture removal across the entire batch. Using mobile bridge assemblies and pneumatic cylinders, the cart applies controlled pre‑pressing to compact the curd mass and stabilize its internal structure. The equipment then enables precise dimensional cutting through pneumatically actuated blades, forming standardized blocks ready for pressing. Final pressing is executed directly within molds under programmable pressure and time recipes, eliminating the need for external presses and reducing operator‑dependent variability. By unifying the complete molding train in one automated unit, the Pre‑Press Carts deliver repeatable block geometry, consistent weight, and uniform texture in semi‑hard and hard cheeses. This solution maximizes operational efficiency, improves return on investment per square foot, and ensures process repeatability through automated control of pressure, timing, and handling.