Luminor grants more than half a million euros for the construction of a new cheese factory

Malevss SIA, a cheese production and catering company, has been granted a EUR 590 000 loan to build a cheese production plant in the Tīnūži Parish, Ogre Municipality, near Ikšķile. The company produces and markets SierŠtelle brand cheese.

Malevss SIA has been in the food service industry for more than 25 years, and currently has a café-pastry shop and a restaurant – Siera Studija in Ogre. In 2009, the company started with the production and marketing of a few fresh cheeses, the volumes were small and local. Currently, the production of SierŠtelle fresh cheese makes up more than 60% of the company’s total turnover. 

“Malevss SIA is a long-standing client of the bank and has previously been granted financing for the purchase of state-of-the-art cheese production equipment and construction of a new pastry production facility. Competition in the catering sector is very fierce, so we are pleased with the company’s professional performance, confidently developing its products and services, expanding production facilities and continuing the company’s growth,” says Ilze Zoltnere, Head of Corporate Department at Luminor in Latvia.

Currently, Malevss SIA produces around 30 different types of fresh cheese, processes between 1000 and 2500 litres of milk per day and produces an average of 14 tonnes of cheese per month. The company provides on-site and off-site catering services for clients, as well as catering for businesses. The company also has an impressive pastry production, which delights customers with warm pies, buns, delicious big pretzels, and tasty cakes and cupcakes.

In 2008, developing its services, the company started the construction of additional production premises at 12 Brīvības Street in Ogre, with a total area of 230 square metres. The production facilities were equipped and put into operation in spring 2010. The existing cheese production facility was set up there.

“Thanks to the support of the Bank and the RSS, we have the opportunity to take the next step – to start building a new cheese factory near Ikšķile. In the new SierŠtelle factory, we will continue to produce SierŠtelle fresh cheese, and we are planning on developing new types of cheese. The primary objective is to increase production space while also improving efficiency and productivity. More space and new equipment will make employees’ daily lives easier and improve production, packaging, order picking and storage processes. We will develop SierŠtelle cheeses and cheese confectionery products in the new factory. We already have a number of these products up our sleeve, and to make them available throughout Latvia and abroad, we have planned a creative product room for experts who will invest their ideas and energy into the creation of these products. We see directions for expanding the range of SierŠtelle cheeses. And we work to surprise and delight our customers with new SierŠtelle products,” says Māris Legzdiņš, chief executive of Malevss.