Penn Cheese located in Winfield, is in the heart of Central Pennsylvania, where we have committed ourselves to make the best cheese that you could possibly desire.

History of Penn Cheese

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Baby and Lacy Swiss products by Penn Cheese

The story of Penn Cheese begins with a man named Eldore Hanni. A second-generation Swiss immigrant who began making specialty cheese as a teenager. His forte was developing new recipes.

In the early 1970s, Eldore landed at the Carr Cheese factory in Cuba City, WI and began working on a recipe of Baby Swiss. When demand exceeded production space, Hanni relocated to Pennsylvania, teaming with Amish locals to establish a cheese-making facility. Construction of the Winfield PA. plant began in May of 1977 and was christened two years later on May 8, 1979.

Thomas Weber,  from Cuba City, WI, moved to Pa with Eldore, as an apprentice. Eldore has since retired and Mike Price took over as general manager for the company in the mid-1980s and today is part owner along with Tom Weber, now a licensed cheese maker.

The Penn Cheese Corporation was officially formed in 1990, but in 1982, the company began supplementing its B grade milk supply, from Maryland and Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative Association. In fact, from 1983 to current date, 100 percent of the company’s milk supply comes from cooperative members within a 100-mile radius of our Winfield plant. Penn Cheese handles seven to ten trailer-loads of milk each week, constituting about 2.1 to 2.5 million pounds of cheese annually.

Penn Cheese manufactures Baby Swiss, a reduced fat/reduced sodium Lacey Swiss, which is in the same genre as the Heidi and Lorraine brands. We also produce a Sweet Hot Swiss, Smoked Baby Swiss, and Domestic Swiss, and market our products under the Pennsylvania People and Winfield Valley brands. The cheese is primarily sold east of the Mississippi, specifically in Wisconsin, Illinois Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New Jersey. However, 60 to 70 percent of the company’s business is through private label manufacturing that is available through national distributors.

We pride ourselves not only on our cheeses, but also on our relationships, many of which have been maintained since Eldore Hanni opened the Penn Cheese facilities.

The Big Cheese

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Tom Weber

Tom Weber, our “Big Cheese,” Plant Manager, and head cheese maker, has over 32 years of cheese making experience. Tom, a licensed and certified Wisconsin Cheese Maker, grew up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin, where he learned his craft in the cheese plants and manufacturing fields. Along with years of perfecting Penn Cheese’s ingredients, Tom has helped create a successful and award winning cheese.

In the late 1970s, Tom worked as an apprentice for Eldore Hanni, and grew his knowledge of cheese making from a true cheese making expert. When Eldore moved to Central Pennsylvania, Tom saw an opportunity to assist Eldore in making a dream come true. And though, Eldore has since retired and started another successful business called Farmstead Fresh, his legacy at Penn Cheese lives on. Tom has remained at Penn Cheese for all of these years, continually improving his recipe for Baby Swiss, Lacey Swiss, Domestic Swiss, and Hot Swiss cheeses.