Dairy cooperative Dale Farm has commenced work on a £70 million upgrade of its cheddar processing facility near Cookstown.
The company said the upgrades at the Dunmanbridge facility will increase cheese production by 20,000 tonnes per year.
Dale Farm said the £70m will be spent integrating of state-of-the-art technologies and equipment, representing one of the largest ever single investments by a northern agri-food company.
The site, between Cookstown and Moneymore, currently employs 345 people.
It sources its milk from 760 of the 1,280 milk producing farms in the Dale Farm co-op.
Work at the Dunmanbridge site is expected to be completed by February 2025.
Group chief executive, Nick Whelan, said it will position Dale Farm as a leading cheddar player in Europe.
It currently exports cheddar to 40 countries.
“Dale Farm has built a strong reputation as a leader in cheddar production, and thanks to our reputation for quality, sustainability and consistency, we are seeing strong customer growth in the category,” he said.
“Key to our success is the dedication and ingenuity demonstrated on a daily basis by our team right across the business.
“We are already exporting to 40 countries, and with this investment we want to build on that momentum and future proof our operation at Dunmanbridge for decades to come.”
As well as improving and replacing existing site-wide services and utilities, Dale Farm said the expansion will include a new high speed automated cheese slicing line, an increased warehouse footprint and investment in new patented products and processes.
The cooperative said the installation of new more energy efficient technologies alongside new production processes, will reduce the site’s carbon footprint by an estimated 4,500 tonnes per year, when compared against milk powder production.
“The sustainability and profitability of our farmers and their businesses are at the heart of every decision we make as a cooperative,” said Mr Whelan.
“Thanks to the success of our strategy and growth, we are in a position where we can make an investment of this scale while continuing to pay a competitive milk price.
“This investment will be transformative not just for Dale Farm, but for the Northern Ireland rural economy.
“We have big plans for the future and are looking forward to the next step of this journey.”
Dale Farm is due to announce its financial results for the year ending March 2024 at the end of June.
Last year, the co-op reported 20% surge in annual turnover to £728 million.
Dale Farm’s operating profit increased by nearly £10m to £35.5m in the 12 months, while and net profit before tax came in at £26.8m.
