published on 17/02/09
Arla Foods has begun construction work on a £70m extension to its flagship dairy in Leeds as part of a restructure that will see the closure of the company's Northallerton site. The majority of the construction work will be carried out by a team of outsourced contract engineers, all sourced by the project manager as part of the reconstructure.
The investment at the Stourton plant in Leeds will allow Arla to produce cottage cheese for the first time in the UK as well as extending the site's production of fresh cream, crème fraiche and other dairy products.
Arla dairy brands include Anchor, Cravendale, Lurpak and Apetina.
No details have so far been made public on how the investment will affect packaging at the site or who will supply the machinery.
However, a spokeswoman for Arla has said that engineering and project teams had already specified all new kit for the extension. And that they have a good team of skilled mechanical outsourced engineers that are more than able to carry out the installations of the new machinery. The contract engineers, which were brought in by the project manager, will also be responsible for the ongoing maintenance of the new machines running shifts using pro active or re active procedures as demand requires.
The new plant is expected to be operational early next year. It will, the company said, give it improved business efficiencies across its network of dairies which stretches from London to Lockerbie in Scotland.


Read the full article at Packagingnews.co.uk