Jamie Eckley (The Cheese King) Gets it Done!
There are over 10 different vendors involved in the production of our cheese press (E28) and Jamie knows them all. That’s because he found all of them five years ago when he took over responsibility for making this beautiful piece of equipment. He places the orders, picks up the parts, and assembles every press himself.
And that, as they say, is no small task. This press looks simple enough, but looks can be deceiving- it is one complicated project and it’s all made in the USA.
A family with a sawmill in New Hampshire makes the top bar, bottom bar and the base from sugar maple logs. They cut them, sand them and drill the holes in them.
Then, Jamie picks them up and takes them to a wood finisher in a nearby Vermont town where they receive a laquer finish.
The stainless steel molds and drip trays are made in Oregon where they get cut, stamped, rolled and spot welded.
At this point, they are still rough, so Jamie takes them to a company in Massachusetts where they get melted and polished to a smooth finish. (Note: The white stuff on the drip tray and follower is a plastic protective seal which can be peeled off.)
The rods, locks and ferrules are made in a local machine shop, as are the two plastic followers.
The springs are made in Springfield (really!), a city 50 miles south of us, and the label and weight gauge are made in Connecticut.
The rest of the miscellaneous nails, screws, nuts and washers are provided by an industrial supply company.
When all the parts have arrived, Jamie methodically assembles each press and packs it in a special box with bubble wrap and cardboard for shipping.
Angie (shown below) or Kathy add the free cultures and the direction sheet to each box and ship them off to our customers.
Do we make a profit on this press? It’s negligible. So, why do we do all this? This press is an important part of our mission- to make cheesemaking easy and fun for everyone. Ricki had it designed for us over 30 years ago because it works and it looks good on a kitchen counter. So, for as long as we’re in business, we’ll make it!
