Pembrokeshire Creamery has officially launched its cutting-edge milk processing facility in Haverfordwest, marking a significant milestone in its mission to bring ‘fully Welsh’ milk to consumers.
Launching on July 2, the dairy is the only BRCGS-accredited liquid milk facility in Wales, meaning it is the only facility able to supply major retailers in Wales with Welsh milk.
By removing the need for Welsh milk to be transported to bottling plants in England, Pembrokeshire Creamery is reducing food miles, increasing supply chain efficiency, creating new skilled jobs, and supporting local farming communities.
Pembrokeshire Creamery, which has created around 80 new jobs, has the capacity to bottle more than a million litres of milk a week and has recently announced major 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 2 million litres of milk a 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.
This was instrumental as it created the plots and infrastructure required (drainage, water, and power) for Pembrokeshire Creamery to locate its new state-of-the-art dairy.
Subsequent Welsh Government support was awarded with £5 million grant funding through the Food Business Investment Scheme and an additional £1.4 million of grant funding from the Food Business Accelerator Scheme.
Funding support has also been provided by HSBC and to date, nearly £20 million has been invested in the site to process high-quality Welsh milk that is farmed, bottled, and sold in Wales.
The company recently announced plans to support the development of a second milk processing line and automated trolley fillers, meeting the growing demand for locally sourced Welsh milk while ensuring the industry’s future sustainability.
Commenting on the opening, Mark McQuade, managing director of Pembrokeshire Creamery Ltd 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,” he said.