Hodge joins the company from sweet maker Tangerine Confectionery where he served in a number of senior roles, including group operations technical manager and factory manager in Pontefract, west Yorkshire.
He also has more than 24 years’ experience in manufacturing, with a number roles within food firms such as Unilever and Cadbury.
Commenting on his appointment, Hodge said: “I’m incredibly excited to join the Meadow Foods team and will strive to ensure that we remain competitive and sustainable in the dairy manufacturing industry.”
Responsibility for all site operations
Hodge will have overall responsibility for all site operations at Holme-on-Spalding Moor. He will be responsible for ensuring the health and safety of all employees on site, ensuring the timely delivery of ingredients and lead the development of employees and the site’s processing capabilities.
Mark Chantler, chief executive officer of Meadow Foods, added: “We are delighted to welcome Tony to Meadow Foods.
“With his wealth of experience in the food manufacturing business we look forward to working with him to further improve our Yorkshire site’s capacity both in terms of output and employment opportunities.”
Meadow Foods operates from sites in Chester, Peterborough and Holme-on-Spalding Moor, where it manufactures value-added dairy ingredients in bulk for some of the UK’s best known food manufacturers.
650m litres of milk
The business employs more than 275 people and handles more than 650m litres of milk each year direct from over 650 farmer suppliers from across the UK.
Hodge’s appointment is one of a number of food and drink industry hires over the past month.
Earlier this week, McVitie’s and Godiva owner Pladis has appointed former Bacardi chief marketing officer Dmitry Ivanov to the newly created role of chief commercial officer.
Meanwhile, Irish dairy producer Ornua has announced the appointment of John Jordan as new chief executive.