First Milk is set to replace its Campbeltown creamery in Scotland, as the current site was “struggling to cope with modern demands”, according to the dairy processor.
First Milk said that it will go ahead with plans to build a new creamery, after it received a £3.9M grant from the Scottish government. The creamery will replace its existing Campbeltown on Kintyre creamery, which manufacturers cheese and is supplied by 42 dairy farms. The existing site has been sold to Tesco for an undisclosed sum.
“Future prospects were bleak without a replacement creamery,” according to First Milk. The new creamery will also be built in Campbeltown and will have a larger capacity than the existing one.
Peter Humphreys, First Milk chief executive, said that the new creamery will help the dairy manufacturer grow its Mull of Kintyre cheese brand.
“After the collapse of Dairy Farmers of Britain last month the news from First Milk of its investment in this new creamery is very welcome indeed,” said National Farmers’ Union (NFU), dairy board chairman, Gwyn Jones.
NFU Scotland President, Jim McLaren, added: “This landmark announcement from the Scottish Government and First Milk is a much-needed shot in the arm for dairy farmers regionally and nationally.”