£20m zero carbon emissions cheese plant to open in Wales

By Michelle Perrett

- Last updated on GMT

Managing Director Ronald Akkerman and Lesley Griffiths MS, Minister for Rural Affairs, North Wales and Trefnydd
Managing Director Ronald Akkerman and Lesley Griffiths MS, Minister for Rural Affairs, North Wales and Trefnydd

Related tags Supply chain Dairy

A new £20m cheese factory in Wales, which claims to be the first zero carbon emissions cheese plant in Europe, is opening in June sourcing milk from more than 40 Welsh dairy farmers.

Recruitment is underway for 15 key staff and senior management at the Mona Island Dairy to open the 2,322m​development at the Mona Industrial Park, Anglesey.  

The new factory will be capable of producing 7,000 tons of Welsh and continental cheeses every year. The company has revealed it will have a workforce of over 100 by 2023. 

The net-zero dairy will be powered by renewable energy and raise standards by implementing traditional and cutting-edge methods to manufacture Edam, Gouda, Cheddar, and a range of artisan cheeses using milk from local farms.

Minister visit

Lesley Griffiths MS, Minister for Rural Affairs, North Wales and Trefnydd paid a visit to see progress made ahead of its unveiling in the coming weeks.

The minister praised managing director Ronald Akkerman and the team for their commitment to building the cheese facility, which was supported by a £3m grant from Welsh Government.

She added: “It’s been great to visit Mona Dairy, there is real potential for it to boost our dairy industry.

First zero carbon emissions cheese plant in Europe

“As the first zero carbon emissions cheese plant in Europe it is a cutting-edge development with Wales’s food and drink industry once again a leading light.” 

Akkerman said that it was a pleasure to have the Minister visit. 

“We are already receiving positive feedback and there has been a lot of interest around the opening of Mona Island Dairy from prospective customers, potential job candidates and the food and drink sector, here in the UK and internationally,” ​said Akkerman

“The foundations have been laid and now it’s just a matter of applying the finishing touches and ensuring we have the right people in place, so everything is ready for launch.”

“We can’t wait to get started and thank everyone for their support, especially the rural community here on Anglesey.”

Related topics Dairy Operations

Related news

Show more

1 comment

Mona Island Dairy.

Posted by David James,

Mona Island a Net Zero Dairy. Can you provide the details of who and how this has been verified, as we do not believe any manufacturing plant can be net-zero at the moment due to the lack of technology,

The best that can be achieved at the moment is carbon neutrality

Report abuse

Follow us

Featured Jobs

View more

Webinars

PRODUCTS & SERVICES