Lancashire Farm Dairies invests £1m in yogurt processing
The Rochdale-based yogurt maker said once the investment was complete, its production process would be fully automated from start to finish, enabling it to make 25% more 1kg yogurts.
Colleagues at Lancashire Farm Dairies’ plant could also benefit from the new investments, requiring operator roles to oversee the new robotics system. This would create opportunities for staff to benefit from internal promotions and new training in the tech-heavy factory as business continued to boom, according to the company.
“We are always looking for ways to improve the business,” said Lancashire Farm Dairies managing director Azhar Zouq. “With some of the latest improvements, along with the introduction of new technology, we have invested in the future of the business so we can continue to grow and fulfill our ambitions.
Investments in manufacturing
“Lancashire Farm started as a small business and we are so pleased with the growth so far, but in order to take on major competitors, big investments in manufacturing and taking advantage of such fantastic advancements in technology will play a key part.”
The latest financial spend follows a £3.5m investment in the business in 2018, which paid for new tanks, new fermentation and a new clean-in-place system for cleaning and filling lines. This move enabled the company to double the amount of milk it could process.
After its 1984 launch, the Rochdale-based yogurt maker steadily grew into a multi-million-pound business, which claims to be the third-largest natural yogurt brand in the UK. It also claims to use only free-range milk in its products.
Paradise Farm in Lancashire, which is one of the farms that supplies the brand, is responsible for producing 10,000 litres of milk daily – enough to produce 500,000 pots of Lancashire Farm yogurts annually.
