Arla Foods confirms further investment in excess of £70 million at Stourton

Arla Foods has today (January 29) announced that it is to invest more than £70 million in additional state of the art production facilities at its flagship dairy in Stourton, Leeds.

The investment will allow Arla to expand production at the site to process a range of fresh dairy products, including fresh cream and Crème Fraîche and will allow Arla to manufacture cottage cheese for the first time in the UK. Around 100 new jobs will be created through the investment which reflects Arla’s strategy to maximise growth of value added products. To date, Arla has invested £100 million at Stourton dairy, which processes milk for the major supermarkets as well as leading milk brand, Cravendale.

Building work has already begun at the site and is due to be operational early in 2010. The increased production capacity will not only allow Arla to extend its range of dairy products, it will also increase efficiencies across the business.

Arla intends to transfer cream production to Stourton from its creamery in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, and has informed employees at Northallerton creamery of the proposed closure of the site, subject to consultation, during 2010, resulting in the loss of around 130 jobs.

Commenting on the decision to close the creamery Lars Dalsgaard, Arla UK’s Business Group Director for Supply Chain, added: “While the investment at Stourton is a positive step for the business by extending our product portfolio, and at the same time increasing our efficiencies, it is with much regret that we have announced the proposed closure of a site which has been strategically important to us.

“We are immediately entering into consultation with colleagues at Northallerton, and their representatives and are committed to giving full support to those colleagues who are affected by today’s announcement to help them find alternative employment both internally and externally, subject to the consultation process.”

Arla Foods UK plc is home to some of the UK’s leading dairy brands including Cravendale, Lurpak and Anchor. Processing approximately two billion litres of milk a year Arla continues to be one of the UK’s leading dairy companies and a supplier of fresh liquid milk and cream to the top seven retailers.

Over 2,500 daily deliveries are made directly to stores nationwide and Arla brands can be found across the dairy category. As well as the leader of the butter, spreads and margarine sector, and a major supplier of other added value products including flavoured milk and cheese, Arla continues to build working relationships with Arla Foods Milk Partnership, a unique group of dairy farmers, which supplies around 90 per cent of Arla's total milk requirements.

Behind this leading business is a team of circa 2,800 people across the UK located at our dairies, distribution centres and head office.