TE Lochhead and sons are a traditional dairy producer who in 2001, saw their herd of cattle wiped out by the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in southern Scotland. Rather than simply replace the herd, Gavin Lochhead and his family looked into opportunities to differentiate from other farmers.

The farmer decided to move into cheese production, aiming to get a higher value product compared to milk. The family realised that an investment into a new cheese making facility was not going to be the only requirement. To be able to devote enough time and energy to cheese production, they needed to increase the efficiency and capacity of their milking processes. They needed a larger volume of milk and to be able to spend less time milking.