DAIRY giant Arla has announced it will be injecting cash into four of its site across the UK, including its Lockerbie Creamery.
On the day of the Farm to Fork summit at 10, Downing Street, the co-operative, which has Cumbrian dairy farmers on its books, has said alongside the £179 million investment into Taw Valley announced it March, this will bring their total investment for 2024 to £300 million.
Lockerbie will see a big slice of the investment pie with £34 million promised to fund new technology, gearing the site up for expansion and growth.
The investments illustrate the cooperative’s long-term commitment to producing cheddar at the Lockerbie Creamery and to continuing to produce award-winning cheese. New technology and significant upgrades will be implemented to allow the site to expand and grow over the coming years.
Arla Foods UK board director, and Arla farmer, Arthur Fearnall, said: “We are incredibly proud of today’s announcement, which helps to futureproof the production of British dairy. We’re excited to see how the plans across our sites progress over the coming years, as we continue to work together to ensure all Arla farmer owners receive the best price for their milk.”
Bas Padberg, managing director of Arla Foods UK, comments: “What this means is that our farmer owners are investing in UK food security – as they are not only producing our milk, but they are backing this investment in our production sites. Dairy plays a significant role in the UK economy, with sales of dairy products exceeding £8bn*. On the day of the Farm to Fork Summit we are delighted to set out plans for continued vital investment in our business worth tens of millions of pounds, ensuring the UK remains at the forefront of food production and keeping the nation’s favourite dairy products on our supermarket shelves.”
The announcements come following the news in March that Arla will invest £179m in state-of-the-art technology at its Taw Valley creamery, creating 100 new jobs and enabling the business to export mozzarella that can be used for the likes of pizza toppings around the world. Further export opportunities will be explored after today’s announcement thanks to a new investment at Westbury which will see milk turned into powder for consumption in countries across the globe.
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