ARLA has announced that 50 new jobs are to be created following a £25 million investment at its Yorkshire base.
The firm revealed that a ‘significant’ proportion of the investment in its UK site will go towards new packaging facilities, as well as production equipment, filling lines and a new energy centre.
Over half of the new roles have already been filled by locals, with a further 25 new employees to be recruited over the next two to three years. It comes as the firm relocates its operations from Denmark and Sweden.
Arla said that the site’s production capacity will double as a result of the investment, with its full range of lactose-free milk products to be produced at the facility. Its Lacto-free operations are being shifted to Yorkshire due to the increasing demand for dairy-free products in the UK – with it having risen in value by 93% to be worth £756,061,000 as of April 2021, compared to £392,598,000 in 2017.
Arla UK’s MD, Ash Amirahmadi, said, “We are particularly pleased to start the production of our Lactofree ranges in Settle, where we’ve had a presence for more than 40 years. The public has a real thirst for our Lactofree products, and we’re determined to meet their needs with upweighted production capabilities and an expanding range.
“As a business with its UK headquarters in Yorkshire, we are delighted to be investing back into our home county and supporting local rural communities.”
