Müller UK & Ireland is investing £45 million into the West Lancashire milk production site to enhance its liquid milk production capacity, capability and quality, and to create a flagship facility for milk drying.
According to the dairy company, the Skelmersdale site is primed to become the ‘biggest’ and ‘most flexible’ milk balancing facilities in the UK.
The investment will set the site up to produce 30% more powdered milk, enabling it to become a major producer and exporter of powdered milk products made in Britain - and with milk from British farmers.
To support the additional capacity, Müller will also launch a recruitment drive to hire 40 new employees. Vacancies will include control room technicians, forklift drivers, engineers, and management and support roles.
The dairy company will also be using this investment to strengthen relationships with the site’s supplying farmers.
As a first step, it will introduce an incentive scheme ‘Müller Advantage’ for its ‘Müller Direct’ Skelmersdale supplying farmers. This will equip farmers with knowledge and skills to proactively address areas such as cow health and environmental issues.
In return, Müller will introduce an amended contract offering that is designed to create a more stable milk price and further transparency.
Currently, most Skelmersdale supplying farmers receive an ingredients only price. From November, all Skelmersdale supplying farmers will have the option to receive a Müller Direct Skelmersdale price. This is calculated using a combination of the existing Müller Direct liquid and ingredients price which uses published global indices.
Müller affirms these changes will create higher annualised and more stable returns for the majority of the site’s farmers.
The investment into Skelmersdale follows the acquisition of Yew Tree Dairy in October 2024. Since then, the team has been working to integrate the Skelmersdale operation into the wider business.
“At the time of the acquisition, we said we wanted to go even further and invest significantly in this location. And that’s exactly what we’re doing, we are enhancing our liquid milk production capacity, capability and quality, and creating a flagship facility for milk drying – one of the biggest and most flexible milk balancing sites in the UK,” said Rob Hutchison, Müller Milk & Ingredients CEO.
“With significant investment in the Skelmersdale site, its people and supplying farms, we are creating exciting new opportunities for the whole supply chain, which in turns helps us on our journey to build a better future for British dairy sector.”
Completion of the investments at the site are expected by the end of 2026.
