Dimitrios Kolios founded a small dairy producing kasseri cheese in Polykastro-Kilkis, near Thessaloniki. The family had already been producing home-made cheeses for many generations, in the mountaineous region of Seli, according to well kept recipes, passed down from generation to generation. The first dairy was equipped with the most modern equipment of that time and started with a staff of 12 persons.
KOLIOS kasseri cheese soon becomes famous all over Northern Greece. Over the next few years the reputation of the company grows further and reaches also the market of Athens.
A new factory building was successfully completed and inaugurated in Polykastro, with larger production facilities and completely renewed machinery equipment.
A second cheese factory is completed and starts production in the mountainous region of Seli. This dairy operates seasonally, in spring and summer, in order to process the abundant and of excellent quality milk of the flocks of sheep and goats, grazing on the slopes of the Vermion mountain range.
The company passes to the 2nd generation.
Having passed to the 2nd generation, KOLIOS was developed into a modern industry, which introduced significant innovations in the dairy sector. The production facilities were expanded, the production was standardised, the product mix was enlarged, new product lines and new packaging formats were added. Significant investments were made, in machinery and technological equipment as well as in the expansion of the nationwide sales and distribution network. In the same period successful export activities started.
KOLIOS launches the first individually packed cheese in Greece, ready for consumer use. The KOLIOS Kasseri cheese in a vacuum package of 1 kg, conquers immediately the Greek consumers and revolutionises the Greek market standards.
KOLIOS was the first Greek company to advertise cheese in a TV campaign: “KOLIOS Kasseri – the one and only – exported to 17 countries”.
KOLIOS has been the pioneer in providing individual cooling tanks to the milk farmers in Greece, for the immediate cooling of the sheep’s, goat’s and cow’s milk after the milking process. The company invested and installed 3.500 automated cooling tanks in two years, equipping every single farmer.
KOLIOS was also the first dairy in Greece to collect the milk with a fleet of modern isolated milk tankers, and to implement a strict procedure of daily sampling and controlling of the milk of every single farm, scanning the code of the milk tank of every farm in an automated procedure at the moment of the milk collection. This contributed the most to the improvement of the milk quality and to the exceptional quality of the final products.
In two decades the production was twenty-fold increased and KOLIOS was developed into one of the biggest Greek dairy companies.
The construction of the ultra-modern production plant in Polykastro-Limnotopos, Kilkis was completed. It covers 40.000m2 of production facilities on 180.000m2 of land.
Starts the Organic FETA PDO production.
Expansion of the industrial site by 9.600m2
Starts the organic yogurt production.
The company is considered as one of the best equipped dairies in Europe. KOLIOS holds a leading position in Greek cheese production and in Feta P.D.O. exports.
