SPECIALIST continental cheese producer Riverina Cheese is set to grow on the back of a $3 million upgrade.

Chief executive officer Ross Freeman said the installation of German-made manufacturing equipment would increase production capacity by 35-40 per cent.

The Albury factory uses more than 25 million litres of milk a year, drawn from Murray Valley dairies.

Weekly production includes 35 tonnes of fetta, 12 tonnes of ricotta and six tonnes of houlami cheese.

Riverina Cheese manufactures and sells under the brands Riverina Cheese and Avanti, as well as handling contract packs for many wholesalers.

The plant draws milk from one of Australia's largest and most modern dairies, the ICM-owned Riverina Milk, near Corowa.

The dairy features a large free-stall barn and includes two 60-head rotaries.

Ross said Riverina Cheese used up to 85,000 litres of milk a day, with 30 per cent of that supplied by Riverina Milk.

The balance comes from ACM Milk Brokers, of Kyabram, and Tatura Milk Industries.

Riverina Cheese's branded products include fetta, diced fetta, reduced fat fetta, yoghurt, fresco, bambino and ricotta.

Branded products from Avanti are fetta, haloumi, farm-style cottage cheese, thick yoghurt and pizza cheese.

The Albury factory employs more than 55 staff, including four qualified cheese makers, and there are five more employees at a Sydney depot.

Ross said the $3 million upgrade planned for February would improve the cost of production and yields.

"We will be looking to employ more people and adding new products as we develop and grow other markets," he said.

Focused on the domestic market, Riverina Cheese was originally started in Leeton in 1994 by the Freeman and Buosi families.

Sheep and goats' milk cheeses were added to the range in 1997, resulting in significant growth.

In 2001, the Buosi family retired, selling their interests to Ross and Vicki Freeman.

Riverina Cheese moved to Albury in late 2005 and formed a joint partnership with ICM Agribusiness in 2006 to create The Riverina Cheese Group.

Early that year, Riverina Cheese entered the retail market by supplying Woolworths delicatessens nationally with unbranded bulk full fat and reduced fat fetta.

In 2007, the Leeton site was closed with all manufacturing operations moved to Albury.

ICM Australia became the major shareholder last year.

"Riverina Cheese has focused its business on the ethnic community, involving labour-intensive and specific products," Ross said.

He said haloumi, a Greek cheese used in cooking, had grown supermarket share by 100 per cent over the past five years.

"Speciality and convenience cheeses are the big growth areas," Ross said.

"We do not make mainstream products such as blues or bries, but specialise in the manufacture of hand-crafted continental products.

"Our ricotta is hand-scooped and the haloumi hand-rolled.

"The natural yoghurt is batch-manufactured - there is no continuous processing.

"These are all mainly sold through speciality delicatessens."

At this year's Royal Melbourne Fine Food awards, Riverina Cheese took out four silver and four bronze medals for its ricotta, fetta, haloumi, bambino and yoghurt.

The full-cream fetta and fresh curd textured cheese won gold in this year's Melbourne Specialist Cheese awards.

"We aim to have our product fresh from farm to plate - the ricotta can be served within 24 hours of manufacture," Ross said.

Aside from cheese, the company is also striving to be a good corporate citizen by reducing its carbon footprint through the NSW Sustainable Advantage Program.

Riverina Cheese is also a member of the National Packaging Covenant to reduce package use.

A shop at the Albury factory showcases the company's cheese and yoghurt range, plus imported cheeses and gourmet condiments.