£70m investment: Northern Ireland dairy co-op boosts cheddar production

Dale Farm is owned by its 1,280 farmer members supplying close to 1 billion litres of milk to the co-op annually. Latest accounts show the co-op reached an annual turnover of £728 million in 2023.

Largest investment

This latest £70 million investment, said to be the largest ever in Northern Ireland’s agri-food industry, will expand the cheddar cheese facility at Dunmanbridge in County Tyrone.

The plans will see Dale Farm integrate state-of-the-art technologies and equipment at the site, boosting production and making significant sustainability gains as the cooperative builds on its expertise as a leading European cheddar manufacturer.

The investment comes on the back of successive years of impressive growth for the co-op, and in response to continued customer growth across the UK, Europe and beyond, with the site already exporting cheddar to 40 countries worldwide.

Cheddar cheese production

Nick Whelan, Dale Farm group chief executive, said the investment will support growth and capability for the co-op, and position Dale Farm as a leading cheddar player in Europe.

He says: “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. 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.”

Work on the expanded operation at Dunmanbridge is well underway and is on track to go live in February 2025. As well as improving and replacing existing site-wide services and utilities, 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 investment will increase the site’s cheese capacity by 20,000 tonnes per year, while also expanding its whey protein concentrate capacity.

Energy efficient

It will incorporate the integration of advanced energy efficient technologies which together with new production processes will reduce the site’s carbon footprint by an estimated 4,500 tonnes per year when compared against milk powder production.

Nick adds: “We want to continue to lead the sector in Northern Ireland and beyond and cement our region as a global leader in quality, sustainability, and innovation. We have been granted a patent for cheddar produced at the site and are onboarding new technologies and digital transformation. We’re also investing in sustainability and as a result of this expansion our carbon footprint will see a significant reduction, marking another important milestone on our journey towards net zero.”