Announced last year, the investment into the plant was described by Arla as ‘one of its biggest ever’ in the UK and would enable to dairy co-op to produce Mozzarella in Devon as early as 2027.
The investment will create more than 100 additional skilled jobs for the local area, and the business is looking to recruit for a variety of roles, including apprentices.
Opportunity to recruit
Speaking about the creation of local jobs, Fran Ball, vice president of production in the UK, said: “We’re incredibly proud to see work has begun on our state-of the-art mozzarella plant in the UK. As part of the launch of our mozzarella line, we are exploring how we can use this as an opportunity to recruit more people into the industry.
“In particular we are looking at trialling an apprenticeship scheme, which means we will be able to train apprentices over the next two years – with a view to offering them a full-time position at Taw Valley – for when our mozzarella production begins.”
Work at the Taw Valley site begins as Arla shared its 2024 annual results, which saw the company report revenues of €13.7 billion last year and earnings before interest taxes and amortisation of €1.09 billion.
Lat year saw Arla investments of than €1 billion globally, with a proposal to invest £90m into its Lockerbie site.
Commitment to the UK
Speaking about Arla’s support for British dairy, Bas Padberg, managing director of Arla Foods UK, said: “The investment into our Taw Valley site showcases our commitment to driving change in the UK, and supporting the future of British dairy.
“We are already one of the leading players in global mozzarella market providing quality cheese to customers worldwide, but this investment allows us to continue to support our farmer owners by returning the best price for their milk.”
Meanwhile, Arla Foods and DMK Group have announced plans to merge, creating Europe’s strongest dairy cooperative with a combined revenue of more than €19 billion (£16.2 billion).
The merger will bring together more than 12,000 farmers and will carry the Arla name. Its headquarters will be based in Viby J, Denmark with Jan Toft Nørgaard – chair of Arla foods – as chair of the merged business.
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