Arla Foods UK to Consolidate Butter Production at Westbury Dairies
Arla Foods UK, the British subsidiary of Scandinavian dairy co-operative Arla Foods, is to manufacture retail packet butter at Westbury Dairies, from August 2011. The move follows the announcement in September that Arla Foods UK was to become a shareholder with UK dairy co-operatives First Milk and Milk Link in Westbury Dairies.
All three parties have been examining ways in which the potential of the Westbury site can be developed and the board has agreed that Arla Foods will operate the existing butter-making facility at the site. Arla will also build a dedicated butter making and packing facility for retail products, in addition to continuing production of bulk butter. About 60 jobs will be created at Westbury Dairies as part of the initiative.
Peter Lauritzen, chief executive of Arla Foods UK.
Historically, Arla’s retail own label butter has been produced at Settle, in North Yorkshire, as well as Gotene in Sweden and Varde in Denmark. The move to produce butter at Westbury consolidates Arla’s UK own label butter requirements into one site, and significantly reduces food miles and transport costs.
Westbury complements the business’s other major butter production facility at Holstebro in Denmark and, potentially, will result in the closure of production lines at Settle and Götene and the closure of the Varde site.
