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SERVI DORYL’S INTERVIEW –
Moulds : what are the new trends?

Servi Doryl is featured in the Magazine “Profession Fromager”, dedicated to cheese makers and traditional cheeses.

A look back at the interview with Serge PAGE, sales manager and Elodie PERRY, project engineer, written by Débora PEREIRA and published on February 8th in the Magazine PROFESSION FROMAGER.

MOULDS, EMERGING TRENDS

Answers from Servi Doryl, one of the market leaders in France.

One of the major trends in the mould market in recent years has been the rise of microperforated models, which can provide greater flexibility, improved yields and improved safety. “For soft cheese, our new Hi-Perf moulds improve yields, especially for lactic curds, by limiting the loss of fines. We have thus been able to gain 10% on goat’s cheese production“, explains Serge Page, sales manager of Servi Doryl.

Moules Servi Doryl

MÉCANISABLES

Based in Langeais (37), the company manufactures around 200,000 moulds and block-moulds per year, 60% of which are sold in France. It is one of only three European manufacturers of microperforated moulds, with one Spanish and one Dutchman.

Servi Doryl innovated on this range in 2020 by launching a micro-perforated mould for Comté, the T5C, whose particularity is to reproduce the characteristic pattern given by Conidur sheets. “It offers a more regular pattern on the heels and faces of the cheese, limits the risk of mould growth and promotes better drainage“, he continues. It has only 2 pieces instead of 7 or 8 for the classic models.

The investment must be worth the cost: “A micro-perforated mould can range from a few hundred euros for 5 kg cheeses, to prices above 2,500 euros for large and complex block-moulds. »

The price varies according to the options: “For example, whether or not there is a stainless steel frame. Optional accessories make it possible to adapt the moulds to the mechanisation system, depending on whether decapping is manual or mechanical, for example. They can be fitted with a funnel, which can be made entirely of plastic or have a stainless steel reinforcement to hold the pressure diagrams.” The cheesemaker must “first look at the durability of the moulds before the gross price. Our moulds have a long lifespan, sometimes more than ten or even twenty years“, he argues.

It takes between three and six months to create an exclusive mould. Implementation begins with the printing of the first 3D prototypes. “It took us two years to develop the T5C. At each trial, we have to wait four months, which is the minimum maturing period for the Comté, to analyse the performance. The soft cheese trials go faster. »


This is followed by the manufacture of an industrial pre-series to quantify the draining, before starting production. “In soft cheese, we make one or two stacks. In pressed cheese, one or two moulds are generally sufficient to test screen and perforation combinations with more than 40 possible combinations…“.

BE CAREFUL OF CLOGGING

The cleaning of the moulds is a key point to master. “If you want a mould to last twenty years, advises Serge Page, you have to choose the cleaning products carefully. Chlorinated products are forbidden, they can destroy the plastic. Acidic products are to be preferred, with alkaline washes in exceptional cases.” Micro-perforated moulds do not tolerate bad washing. “You need powerful jets, otherwise the milk stone will become encrusted and block the perforations, the mould is irrecoverable, and drainage is no longer possible.” Hence the obligation to equip yourself with a suitable washing machine.

Finally, the future could make the moulds more communicative: “We are currently working on a prototype that measures cheese parameters using different sensors. The idea is to have a control mould for each production run, which will enable us to adapt the process control for the entire batch. »

Moules classiques

Lactic curds. Classic moulds (above) and Servi Doryl’s High-perf model (below): less loss of curd and therefore yield.

Modèle Hi-Perf

RECYCLING

Since 2020, Servi Doryl has also been offering its customers the opportunity to take back their old moulds for recycling. “We conducted studies to find an ecological solution,” explains Elodie Perry, project engineer. “We shredded polypropylene moulds and vats to see the properties of the material after use. The results were presented to different recyclers, four of which accepted them. This operation, which is part of a sustainable development approach, must be economically viable for the cheese maker and Servi Doryl.