Philadelphia cream cheese sales rise, forcing Mount Gambier factory into overtime
As isolation sent people bonkers for baking, a Mount Gambier factory that makes Philadelphia cream cheese went overtime.
Mount Gambier
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The COVID-19 pandemic has had a surprising impact on a Mount Gambier factory.
Mondelez Suttontown produces Philadelphia cream cheese destined for Australia, New Zealand and parts of Asia – a product that has been in high demand since March.
When the pandemic hit, plant lead Alvaro Camblor was initially concerned about changes to the supply chain but said it didn’t take long before the factory had to pick up the pace.
The increased demand has led to addition of a Saturday shift and overtime for its 110 workers with the factory now operating 24 hours a day, six days a week.
“For us, it has been a mixed feelings. On one hand, like everybody else we have to go through the COVID restrictions,” Mr Camblor said.
“But in terms of production, it has been very good because we have had a huge increase in volume, mostly because of the COVID people are staying home cooking more cheesecakes.
“Cream cheese might not be a primary food like milk or bread but people are really attached to it.”
Each year the factory produces 20,000 tonnes of cream cheese but Mr Camblor said sales were 18 per cent up for 2020 with 250g blocks proving popular for iso-baking.
“Normally our big season will be probably two to three months, but we’re are still here in the big season which has been basically six months,” he said.
“We had to increase work on the weekends and overtime but we have been able to keep up with everything without any major disruptions or issues.”
While Mr Camblor was pleased to see business booming, he said he was thrilled by the job security it had created in uncertain times.
“What is the most important thing for me is it secures jobs,” he said.
“We have around 100, 110 (employees) depending on the season but we also use more indirect employment to support the plant from engineering to maintenance, cleaning and truck drivers.
“They feel very secure, and they feel like they are in a good spot and to have that peace of mind that we are safe is very good.”
With the factory churning through 30 million litres of milk and eight million kilos of cream annually - all sourced from within a 200km radius - Mr Camblor said the success also had a flow-on effect to local dairy farmers.
Yet, despite its 40-year history in Mount Gambier, Philadelphia cream cheese’s link to the town is relative unknown pushing Mondelez to recently change the packaging to celebrate its hometown with a new tagline ‘Expertly Blended in Mount Gambier’.