At the end of the 1800s, the western world was in the throws of dramatic political, economic and social changes brought about by the industrial revolution. At the same time, Grana cheese was also undergoing its own private revolution. Man-made meadows were becoming increasingly widespread in the cheese-producing areas and the number of dairy livestock had risen sizeably.

The dairy industry was flourishing; in the last quarter of a century, the old dairies had seen the dawning of a new age after remaining unchanged for centuries, overlooked by the progresses in science and industry. During this period, the centrifugal creamer (Lefeldt) made its first timid appearance, followed by the heftier Lavai separator in 1881.
At the same time, dairies in Lower Lombardy were making regular use of liquid rennet, thermometers, and lactometers, as well as butyrometers and horizontal drum butter-making machines in the preparation of butter.


The introduction of the centrifugal creamer and the separator, however, were turning points within the industry and founded large-scale dairies and other premises which were able to process more than 300 hectolitres of milk per day.
In the meantime, the production areas had increased and after the unification of Italy turning milk into Grana became a pillar of the Val Padana's farming economy. During this period, the Italian State set up the first scientific institutes in recognition of the importance of the milk-cheese industry in order to support its development. L'Istituto Sperimentale di Caseificio, run by Carlo Befana, was founded in Lodi in 1871, and La Scuola di Caseificio "Zanelli", headed by Pellegrino Spallanzani was opened in Reggio Emilia in 1874.