April 18, 2013

England's Trewithen Dairy to break ground soon

 

 

 

On Friday (Apr 19), a ceremony to break ground marked the start of construction work at Trewithen Dairy, the final stage of a four-year development costing £11.4 million (US$17.4 million) in all.

 

The work will see a new dry goods store and packaging handling facility built as well as an upgrade to the factory's liquid milk routing. There will also be an upgrade to site security, staff facilities and offices.

 

Half the cost of the development, £5.7 million (US$8.7 million), has been met by the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE).

 

Trewithen's commercial director Francis Clarke said, "The expansion so far has more than delivered the expected results. We are on target for increasing our milk production levels still further in 2013 and 2014, and have seen healthy sales increases on-year.

 

"Having the input of the RDPE has been vital for us. At a time when the dairy industry's facing difficult challenges, such as rising milk production costs and a recessive climate, we are remaining strong and striving to deliver a competitive premium for farmers."

 

Sheryll Murray, Member of Parliament (MP) for South East Cornwall, was on hand to wield the spade and said she welcomed the expansion. "Trewithen's a fantastic dairy with really high-quality produce," she said.

 

"I welcome this fantastic investment in the local food economy, creating jobs for my constituents. The award-winning dairy really is a local success story and the produce truly is something that all the staff can be proud of. I'm certainly proud to say Trewithen Dairy is in my constituency."

 

Trewithen Dairy produces and distributes milk, butter, yoghurt and Cornish clotted cream from its Greymare Farm site. The latest construction project is due to be completed by November 2013. The company said previous elements of the investment programme had seen an additional 33 jobs created, with the dairy now employing 113 full-time staff - and it was now on target to employ 120 by 2014.

 

Divisional director Mike O'Neill said, "You can imagine how delighted we are to be associated with a project that reflects the very best in Cornish dairy produce and to be supporting a business that contributes so much to the regional economy and to the reputation of Cornwall."