Yorkshire-based Arla to invest ‘tens of millions’ into production sites

The cooperative, owned by thousands of European dairy farmers including around 2,000 in the UK, currently operates nine production sites across the country – making a range of milk, butter, cheese and other dairy staples.

The investments will see significant upgrades to each of the firm’s locations, which it said will “secure the future” of its sites.

Bas Padberg, managing director of Arla Foods UK, said: “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.”

New technology and “significant upgrades” are set to be implemented at Arla’s Lockerbie Creamery through a £34m investment at the site.

At the firm’s site in Stourton, Arla said a £65m upgrade will expand its capabilities in extended shelf life (ESL) milk, particularly the Cravendale and BoB brands, as well as introduce a capability to supply milk in cardboard cartons.

Arla said that as a result of the investment, the site will produce enough additional milk to fill the equivalent of 560 million bowls of cereal.

Aylesbury, which is the UK’s biggest fresh milk site producing more than 1 million bottles of milk daily, will also receive additional automated box packing capabilities, through an £8m investment.

The firm added that further export opportunities will also be explored through a £15m investment at its site in Westbury, which will see milk turned into powder for consumption in countries across the globe.

The latest announcement from Arla follows the news in March that the firm plans to invest £179m in state-of-the-art technology at its Taw Valley creamery, creating 100 new jobs and enabling the business to export mozzarella around the world.

The firm said that this investment would allow it to “capitalise on the potential for export around the world”.

Fran Ball, vice president for production at Arla Foods, said: “We are wholly committed to UK manufacturing to ensure we continue to produce the nutritious dairy products that are a staple in millions of fridges across the country.

“The investments will allow us to make significant upgrades across our portfolio, making our facilities fit for the future of dairy production here in the UK.”

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.”

Arla claims to be the world’s fifth largest dairy company and largest supplier of organic dairy products, with a total of more than 18,000 colleagues.