Arla plans to invest €80 million to more than double the production of mozzarella at its Branderup Dairy in Denmark as it responds to the increasing global demand for the cheese.
As part of the project, the dairy cooperative will expand the milk weighing capacity, milk silo inventory, milk processing area, storage capacity and add a cheese production line at the plant.
Production will also be enhanced with the use of new and more sustainable technology.
Arla said it expects the European mozzarella cheese market to increase from around 650,000 tonnes in 2019 to 720,000 tonnes by 2022.
“An expansion of this size places Arla in the forefront as one of the world’s leading producers of mozzarella cheese and gives us the opportunity to build on that position as a supplier of high-quality mozzarella in Europe, Asia, USA and the Middle East,” said Sami Naffakh, Arla executive vice president for supply chain.
Rene Nørgaard, senior director of Arla’s mozzarella production, said: “We are very proud of our production of high-quality mozzarella at Branderup Dairy and it is very gratifying that a growing demand for our products now means that we must more than double our production. It helps create the future of dairy and I am happy for Arla, the dairy and our farmer-owners.”
He added: “At Arla, we work with sustainability in all aspects of dairy production from the farm to the consumer. We also assume this responsibility at Branderup Dairy and therefore we aim to reuse as much water as possible, and will use the latest energy-optimised equipment for the expansion.”
The project is expected to be completed in the summer of 2021.
Last month, Arla opened a new cheese production site in Manama, Bahrain, to meet the increasing demands for dairy in the Middle East and North Africa.
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