The Sant’Agata maturation facility in Cogollo del Cengio, in the province of Vicenza, is dedicated to the long maturation of Gran Moravia. Located just 8 kilometres from Brazzale’s headquarters in Zanè, it combines robotics, digital microclimate control, and a particularly favourable location at the mouth of the Astico Valley, at the foot of the Asiago Plateau.

Inside the facility, an integrated system of transfer vehicles, shuttles, satellite units, and articulated robots handles the Gran Moravia wheels throughout the various stages of maturation. The facility can accommodate more than 250,000 wheels and enables continuous control of temperature, humidity, air exchange, and cheese care operations.

The roof houses a 747 kW photovoltaic system designed to help meet the facility’s energy needs. The project repurposed an existing industrial building, incorporating new production functions into a design focused on efficient use of space, handling, and energy.

When the Cheese Wheels Come to the Robots

The distinctive feature of the Sant’Agata facility is its reversal of the traditional maturation model: instead of operators or machines moving along aisles to reach the cheese wheels, the wheels travel on their pallets to the machines that care for them.

This system reduces unused volume, minimises aisle space, and achieves more stable and uniform temperature and humidity conditions. This allows the cheese to mature in a controlled environment designed to support the natural processes of long maturation consistently.

Loading and unloading, turning, brushing, and cleaning the boards are carried out by articulated robots managed by a central computer system, which records each operation and enables precise monitoring of the activities performed on each batch.

The Astico Valley Breeze

The choice of location is an integral part of the project. Sant’Agata lies at an altitude of approximately 300 metres, at the mouth of the Astico Valley, in a position that allows the facility to draw on outdoor air from the surrounding Alpine foothills.

The climate control system distributes air evenly and precisely through a duct network approximately 140 kilometres long. Its purpose is to maintain stable conditions conducive to cheese maturation, minimising disturbances, strong draughts, and microclimatic fluctuations.

Efficiency, Proximity, and Control

Sant’Agata was also designed to bring a crucial stage in the product’s life back close to Brazzale’s headquarters. Its location, just a few kilometres from Zanè, allows close oversight of Gran Moravia’s maturation, cutting, packaging, and logistics.

Consolidating maturation at a single robotic facility has eliminated the need for multiple off-site warehouses, reducing handling and transport distances. The result is a more efficient system in which technology, proximity, and direct oversight work together to support the maturation of the cheese wheels.