Müller has completed a £50 million project to build a chilled yogurt manufacturing facility capable of producing 500 million pots each year at its site in Telford, UK.
The project has doubled the size of the Telford site, increasing its capacity to make products in formats including big pots, split pots and regular fruited yogurts.
Müller said the investment, which has created 65 new jobs, enables it to meet growing demand from consumers for branded and private-label yogurts.
The expansion includes the installation of three new production lines, the modernisation of three existing lines, the installation of an energy-efficient cooling facility and a new automated high bay warehouse.
It also ensures that Müller will have the capability to pursue further increases in production at the site of up to 700 million pots in the future.
Bergen Merey, managing director at Müller Yogurt & Desserts, said: “We are very proud of what we have achieved at Telford. This is a major step towards reducing the UK’s dependence on imported yogurt products, and it gives us a significant competitive advantage.
The project increases Müller’s capacity to make yogurts in formats including big pots, split pots and regular fruited variants.
“We have acted to enable us to increase our share of both the private-label and branded yogurt category. We intend to leverage our greater capabilities to support the growth of our private-label business whilst we continue to innovate and drive our core branded products like Müllerlight and Müller Corner.
“Yogurt is at the heart of the dairy category, with consumers asking for a wide range of delicious branded and private-label yogurts that are made with their needs in mind – offering everyday dairy goodness, indulgence, protein, lactose free, natural, fat free and reduced or zero added sugar.
“As a result of this investment, Müller customers will benefit from increased levels of innovation, choice and capabilities to make healthy, great-tasting yogurt products made in Britain with milk from British farms.”
Earlier this month, Müller Milk & Ingredients announced plans to close its facility in Foston, UK, in part due to the “declining consumption” of fresh milk and significant changes in retailing.
In February, Müller Milk & Ingredients launched a £100 million cost and margin improvement programme in the UK, in a move to “return to sustainable levels of profitability”.
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