Milk Links Speciality Cheese Packing Unit Opens For Business

Milk Link, the UKs largest cheese manufacturer and leading dairy co-operative, has opened its brand new, 1.4 million speciality cheese packing unit at its Reeces Creamery in Malpas, Cheshire. The unit specialises in cutting and packing traditional farmhouse cheeses from a wide range of small scale producers.

The purpose built facility combines the expertise of Creamery staff in handling crumbly territorial and farmhouse cheeses with state of the art cutting and packing technology. Many of the cheeses ranging from mature cheddars to crumbly Cheshires are matured in rounds and wrapped in cheesecloth whilst others arrive in traditional wooden boxes. Milk Links investment means that it can cut, pack and label these cheeses for major retail customers such as Waitrose whilst supporting Britains small scale cheese producers.

The facility operates in four sections preparing the cheeses, which involves removing the different types of covering with which they arrive; using specialist equipment to cut the cheeses depending on their shape; packing the cheese once it has been cut; and stacking the finished product ready for distribution.

This latest investment is integral to Milk Links newly created Speciality Cheese Business Unit. Sitting alongside our Cheddar business, Milk Links Speciality Cheese business produces a variety of crumbly and hard territorial cheeses such as Stilton, Cheshire and Red Leicester. The new cutting and packing plant provides a strong platform from which Milk Link can build on its expertise in dealing with these types of traditional British cheeses, providing consumers with the products they want in the formats required by Milk Links customers.

Mark Frankcom, Director, Speciality Cheese, commented: Were delighted with this new addition to our Speciality Cheese Business Unit. Not only are we securing and creating jobs at our Reeces Creamery, but we are also meeting our customers needs. Customers such as Waitrose expect very high standards when it comes to packing the food they sell using Milk Links expertise and the latest technology available, they can have confidence that we will meet those standards.

Milk Link

• Milk Link is one of the UKs leading integrated dairy businesses, owned 100% by British dairy farmers. It manufactures a complete portfolio of dairy products including long life milk, cheese, creams, flavoured milks and milk powders supplying most major multiples and the foodservice sector.
• Milk Link exists to provide long-term security for its dairy farmer Members.
• Milk Link is the largest cheese producer in the UK supplying Cheddar, Stilton and British regional cheeses to the retail, foodservice and ingredients sectors.
• Milk Link employs over 1,000 people at six cheese and dairy processing facilities at Taw Valley, Devon; Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire; Malpas, Cheshire; Llandyrnog, Wales; and Lockerbie, Scotland, plus a large, modern consumer packing facility in Oswestry, Shropshire.
• Milk Link has a number of leading dairy brands including Tickler Extra Mature Cheddar, Cadog, Lockerbie, The Red One and Moo Milk.

Speciality Cheese Business Unit

• Research shows that British consumers are increasingly turning to speciality cheeses for particular occasions such as dinner parties
• As well as its Reeces Creamery in Cheshire, Milk Link owns Tuxford & Tebbutt, one of only six Creameries in the UK licensed to produce Stilton. This most English of cheeses has been made on the site since the 18^th Century
• Milk Link recently announced a strategic partnership with Cornish Country Larder, producer of soft cheeses such as Camembert and Brie
• 12 new jobs have been created or secured at our Reeces Creamery as a result of the new facility, with the potential for four more