Eva Kuhn – Cheese Technologist, Tetra Pak CPS B.V.
Tetra Pak is known around the world for its iconic drinks cartons, but the international manufacturing giant is actually involved in a wide range of innovative processing solutions across the entire food industry – including for cheese. The company has a global team of around ten cheese technologists, and Eva Kuhn is one of them: “It’s exciting to be part of such an innovative, research-focused company that is continuously pushing the boundaries in technology and automation to shape the future of cheesemaking.”
eva kuhn - cheese technologist at tetra pak pse food solutions cheese
Eva Kuhn had never been outside of the USA before she joined Tetra Pak, but she is now certainly putting her passport to good use: she has just returned from two three-week stints in Estonia for a customer project, and she will soon be flying out to Argentina for a different project. “I was perfectly happy in my ‘dream job’ at a local cheese factory, but I couldn’t resist this unique opportunity to expand my technical expertise, to learn, to grow and to travel the world!” she says.
Your business trip to Estonia was your first-ever time abroad. How did it go?
I was slightly nervous beforehand, but then the excitement took over. I like to challenge myself to step out of my comfort zone, plus I love being in a manufacturing environment. It was also a great way for me to get to know my colleagues better; there were dozens of Tetra Pak people on-site from around the world, and I was struck by everyone’s willingness to help and the strong sense of camaraderie. To be honest, I initially found the idea of joining such a huge company a little daunting – there are 25,000 people working here, so how would I find my niche? But I now have a much clearer picture of who does what, and of my own role in future projects.
And what is that role, exactly?
The main part of my job is supporting new cheese factory developments. Just like any engineering project, there are lots of unknowns when starting up a new cheese line, so I support the customer through the equipment testing phase up to the final handover. I also help customers to set up and adjust the recipes, and I provide operator training. In the case of existing production lines, we help customers to optimise the quality, yield and efficiency based on a process audit. No two days are the same in manufacturing and new challenges continuously arise, but that means you’re always learning new things… and it’s never boring!
How much travel is involved?
I probably spend an average of 50% of my time on job sites, either here in the US or elsewhere. The rest of the time, I work from home. I’m part of the global team of cheese technologists; my manager and some of my direct colleagues are based in the Netherlands, with others in Poland and elsewhere in the US, so I don’t have to travel into the office.
So do you feel part of the team?
Yes, definitely. We have weekly online meetings to connect, and we also organise online cheese tech workshops where we take it in turns to share details of interesting projects we’ve been working on. When I first joined the company, I was assigned a ‘buddy’ who helped me to settle in. I also felt very supported by my manager who ensured I received good on-the-job training and allows me to have a lot of autonomy in my role. Tetra Pak is quick to give you responsibility once you demonstrate your capabilities. Besides that, the company offers lots of development opportunities in terms of workshops and online training, including in soft skills. Communication skills at all levels are important in this role, because our customers come in all shapes and sizes.
You refer to your previous role as your ‘dream job’, and yet you still moved to Tetra Pak. Why?
Cheese-making has been a passion of mine ever since I first made cheese over a decade ago, so I regarded my previous role as Senior Technical Services Scientist at a cheese factory in as my dream job. But to be honest, until I saw the vacancy on LinkedIn, I didn’t even know that Tetra Pak employed cheese technologists; most equipment companies don’t employ them in-house. So I couldn’t resist this unique opportunity to expand my technical expertise, to learn, to grow and to travel the world! I was familiar with the iconic drinks cartons, of course, but it’s only since joining the company that I’ve come to appreciate just how much of the food world Tetra Pak touches. Personally I often think about the challenge of feeding the world’s population in 2050, and so I love the fact that Tetra Pak values the planet. It’s even expressed in our slogan: ‘Protect what’s good’. In every project, besides focusing on cheese quality, we’re mindful of the sustainability aspect and ensure that all inputs – from every drop of milk to every watt of electricity – are used efficiently with minimal waste.
Which aspects of your previous experience come in particularly useful in this role?
I first got hands-on experience of cheese-making working in the on-campus creamery while I was studying food science and technology 11 years ago. We also ran cheese-making workshops for local cheese makers, which comes in useful when training operators nowadays. After graduating, I got my first ‘proper’ job as an operations management trainee at a regional dairy manufacturing company. That gave me valuable all-round experience in manufacturing and quality management. I think it’s very important to have operational experience in this role, because it helps you to put yourself in the customer’s and end user’s shoes, understand their wants and needs, and focus on how to make life easier for them.
You already know so much about cheese! Is there anything left for you to learn at Tetra Pak?
Yes, loads! It’s exciting to be part of such an innovative, research-oriented company that is continuously pushing the boundaries in technology and automation to shape the future of cheesemaking. One hot topic in every industry right now is artificial intelligence, and I am excited to see how the cheese industry can benefit from AI for process optimisation. However, cheese is a complex biological process, so I believe there will always be some human experience required to ensure great-tasting cheese.
So you’re not worried about the future?
No, also because the cheese market is still growing every year. In the US some really interesting high-tech mega cheese plants are being built that will need a lot of technical support, plus many other plants are aging and need upgrades. Meanwhile, we have various equipment in the Tetra Pak portfolio to respond to future trends such as the rising demand for protein alternatives using biomass fermentation. And on a personal level, I’ve just been assigned my first equipment development project, which I’m very excited about.
Are you ready to take the next step? Feel free to reach out to us.
[Published: October 2023]
