Investment of £3.5m is revitalising local dairy

Feb 26 2008 by Tom Patterson, The Journal

A MAJOR Dairy Farmers of Britain investment pro- gramme is revitalising the 34-year-old Blaydon dairy in Gateshead. The move underlines the strategic value of the plant in keeping two and a half million consumers across the North East supplied with fresh milk and cream.

Since acquiring the dairy from ACC in 2005, the co-operative has invested £3.5m in a range of new and improved processing facilities.

A further £7m is earmarked for additional improvements over the next two years.

Blaydon factory manager Paul Husband said: “The nearest major dairy is a 200-mile, four-hour round trip away in Leeds, so we are ideally placed to satisfy the local market for over more than four million litres of milk a week.

“As both food miles and carbon footprints become ever more important in industry and consumer considerations, our strategic value as a local dairy is bound to grow.

“That’s why our business is investing so substantially for the future.”

Working 24 hours a day, six days a week, the dairy currently produces nearly three million litres of milk a week for homes across the North East and Carlisle.

Mr Husband added: “We have sufficient capacity to take the greatest possible advantage of our position as the only major dairy in the region.

“The present investment programme is designed to maximise our flexibility in meeting changing retailer and consumer demands.”

As a multifunction site, bottling milk in polybottles and glass, as well as packing cream and orange drinks, Mr Husband believes that Blaydon is able to meet the needs of its customers far better than the larger, supermarket dairies that are coming to dominate the industry.

He added: “This makes it an especially valuable asset in a fast-changing world in which first- class customer service is the key to business success.

“Locally-produced and processed milk is a vast area of opportunity for us. Since November, for instance, sales of the local choice milk we produce for Tesco stores across the North East have increased by 300%.

“The far greater flexibility we are building into Blaydon, to operate smaller specialist production runs with the greatest efficiency, gives us a huge advantage in supplying this growing market.

“Our factory has been an important part of the local economy for more than 30 years.

“With Dairy Farmers of Britain’s commitment to adding value to local milk for local people and leadership in innovative milk marketing, I have no doubt we will grow from strength to strength in the next 30 to the benefit of North Eastern farmers and consumers alike.”