By acquiring Nom’s modern yogurt production facility at Telford in Shropshire, Müller has opened up opportunities to build its own-label presence in UK retail on top of its well- established branded range of yogurts.
The Austrian-owned Nom dairy was opened in 2009 as a new plant at a cost of £40M. Located on a 24-acre site at Donnington Wood, Telford, the Nom Dairy UK facility has a turnover of £43M a year.
Takeover
The acquisition follows Müller UK & Ireland Group’s takeover of fresh milk processor Robert Wiseman Dairies and the chilled desserts facility at Minsterley, Shropshire, formerly owned by Uniq, which is now part of Greencore.
Müller is also building Britain’s largest butter manufacturing facility at Market Drayton in Shropshire, where its main yogurt factory is located, at a cost of £17M. The first products are expected to roll off the production line this autumn.
‘Growing our presence’
Heiner Kamps, chief executive officer of German parent group Theo Müller said: “This acquisition underlines our commitment to growing our presence in the UK, which – along with Germany and the US – is a core market for Müller.
“We believe there are strong opportunities in the UK private- label yogurt sector and the Telford facility will help us to realise our plans to provide our customers with great products in this important market.”
Ronald Kers, chief executive of Müller UK & Ireland Group, said: “We want to be the biggest and best dairy company in the UK and, by acquiring this excellent facility, we can increase the range of private-label yogurt products made with milk from British farms, which in turn can reduce the UK’s dependence on imported dairy products.”