The site is the only BRCGS accredited liquid milk facility in Wales, meaning it is the only facility able to supply major retailers with Welsh milk processed in Wales.
By removing the need for Welsh milk to be transported to bottling plants in England, Pembrokeshire Creamery aims to reduce food miles, increase supply chain efficiency, create new jobs and support local farming communities.
Pembrokeshire Creamery, which has created around 80 new jobs to date, has the capacity to bottle more than 1m litres of milk a week and has recently announced deals to supply own-branded milk to Asda and Lidl stores across Wales. When the dairy reaches full capacity, it will be able to supply around 2m litres of milk per week.
The development of Pembrokeshire Creamery was initially supported by the Welsh Government and Pembrokeshire County Council when they formed a joint venture to create the Pembrokeshire Food Park. Subsequent Welsh Government support was awarded with £5m in grant funding through the Food Business Investment Scheme and an additional £1.4m of grant funding from the Food Business Accelerator Scheme.
To date, nearly £20m has been invested in the site to process milk that is farmed, bottled and sold in Wales.
The company has also announced plans to support the development of a second milk processing line and automated trolley fillers.
Commenting on the opening, Mark McQuade, managing director of Pembrokeshire Creamery, said: “This has been a great opportunity to celebrate our early successes and all that means for the people that we’ve employed and the dairy farmers who we work with. We’re creating new markets with major retailers for authentic Welsh milk which in turn is helping us complete our mission to deliver sustainably sourced Welsh milk, bottled right here in Wales while offering a fair and transparent price to farmers.
“We are already committing to more investment and increasing our capacity – and we would like to thank all of the people locally, our staff and suppliers, who have supported us as we’ve built and opened our new state-of-the-art facility.”
Meanwhile, Huw Irranca-Davies, cabinet secretary for climate change and rural affairs, added: “I am delighted that the new Pembrokeshire Creamery has started processing Welsh milk for Lidl and Asda. This new facility, supported by Welsh Government Rural Development investment underlines the commitment of the Welsh Government to the dairy sector in Wales. This investment ensures that milk which previously had to be transported to England is now processed in Wales. As a result, Welsh consumers will now be able to buy Welsh milk, produced in Wales.
“This commitment is part of our vision for achieving growth and productivity improvement which benefits the workforce, people and society. It also supports the industry to reach high levels of sustainability, raising the Food and Drink industry’s reputation in Wales, the UK and overseas.”
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