Leeds to get share of dairy giant Arla’s £37.5m investment
Arla Foods UK, the farmer-owned dairy company, is to pump around £37.5m into its UK sites and logistics in 2017, plans which include a major investment in its Leeds operation.
The UK figure is part of the £285m investment Arla expects to make at its sites around the world.
Arla said the move will support its global ‘Strategy 2020’ by moving more milk from bulk into branded, own label and foodservice sales.
The overall investment forecast is nearly a 50% increase compared to last year (£192m in 2016) and one of the highest ever single-year supply chain investment in the company’s history.
The £37.5 million will be spread across all its 13 UK production, packing and distribution sites, including £5m at Stourton dairy in Leeds, which will see a number of projects such as a new packing facility to increase production of own-label flavoured milk.
Tomas Pietrangeli, Arla Food UK managing director, said: “Last year, I unveiled the most ambitious UK business strategy to date to make Arla a household brand by 2020 and grow its revenue by nearly a third.
“This ambition is part of the company’s global strategy for growth and will position Arla as the champion of British dairy. By continually investing and improving our sites, we can ensure we grow capacity, maintain high quality of our products and ultimately return the best possible price to our farmer owners.”
“With these investments we continue our relentless pursuit of the goals in our Strategy 2020 to move more milk from bulk into brands and improve the profitability for our farmer-owners. You will see Arla take an even stronger position in the market as the innovative farmer-owned dairy company, providing great-tasting, natural dairy products that help people make good food choices. That is the main focus of these investments,” added Arla CEO Peder Tuborgh.
