Milk giant consults on East Kilbride and Aberdeen as it announces major investment in Bellshill
THE future of two Müller Milk & Ingredients plants in Scotland is uncertain after the company announced 45-day statutory consultations on the proposed winding down of its East Kilbride and Aberdeen dairies.
The announcement came along with news that the company is to invest £15m over the next three years in Scotland’s largest fresh milk dairy at Bellshill as part of a strategic review of its Scottish dairies operations.
Müller says both the East Kilbride and Aberdeen dairies are operating “well below full utilisation”. More than 60% of the capacity at the Aberdeen dairy is currently unused.
Müller’s network of distribution depots in Scotland is not under review, but some roles at the Aberdeen depot will also fall under consultation. A total of 229 posts are affected across the Aberdeen and East Kilbride sites.
The proposed investment at Bellshill will, says Müller, improve efficiencies and competitiveness and give the dairy the capability to broaden the range of products it is able to make with milk produced by Scottish farmers. The company says it’s also continuing to investigate further opportunities to grow its business in Scotland as it seeks to build a diverse dairy business in the UK.
Andrew McInnes, managing director of Müller Milk & Ingredients suggested the current position wasn’t viable.
“We aim to reinvigorate our fresh milk and ingredients business in Scotland and propose to invest to make Bellshill a centre of excellence for dairy, benefitting consumers, customers, employees and farmers.
“It is important to stress that the status quo is just not viable in the medium term.
“Our Scottish dairies are inefficient and costly which is putting a brake on the innovation and investment needed to stimulate new demand for dairy products.”
