WEST JEFFERSON, N.C. — Plant manager Brandon Hardin began his career at Ashe County Cheese in 2008 in the wax department.

"I always had a love for cheese, but now I have a respect that I didn't have before I started working here," Hardin said.

What You Need To Know

Ashe County Cheese was started by Kraft back in 1930

It ships cheese all over the world

The business has a viewing window where people can watch cheese being made

That respect he says comes with learning just how much it takes for cheese to get through the whole process. It's a process that takes hours, and for some cheese the process takes years. It all begins when a milk truck arrives. 

"I just like the whole scientific process of making cheese. It's just interesting to me," Hardin said. "The milk would go into the vat, and we would inoculate the milk with a lactic acid-creating bacteria."

It would then be heated to 100 degrees and later drained in order to prepare the cheese.

Everything is done the old-fashioned way, Hardin says, because this factory has been around for more than 90 years. It was started by Kraft in 1930.

In 1994, Hardin's father-in-law bought the plant with his partner. They were cheese makers from Wisconsin. 

"We run around 35,000 pounds of milk through the facility a day," Hardin said. 

The plant has a viewing room that brings in a crowd. It is a way for visitors to watch how the cheese is made.

They have also opened a store across the street so visitors can purchase some of the cheeses that they watched being made. General manager Josh Williams says the products bring people in from all over the world.