Dale Farm unveils new £7m cheese factory

Left to right: Nick Whelan, Dale Farm group chief executive; Simon Hamilton, economy minister; Alan Harte, site manager; John Dunlop, United Dairy Farmers chairman; and David Dobbin, retiring Dale Farm group chief executive

Belfast-based dairy processor Dale Farm unveiled its new state-of-the-art cheese processing facility in County Tyrone today.

The £7m Dunmanbridge plant has created 60 jobs in the local area.

The factory’s modern equipment and facilities make it one of the most advanced in Europe.

See also: United Dairy Farmers posts strong annual results 

David Dobbin, head of Dale Farm, said that a further £20m would be invested in the company despite Brexit creating market volatility and uncertainty.

The company owns five plants in total – three in Northern Ireland, one in Cumbria and another in Scotland.

Dale Farm belongs to parent company United Dairy Farmers, the UK’s largest British farmer owned co-operative, with 2,500 dairy farmers.

Dale Farm’s state-of the-art cheddar processing and packing facility in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, was unveiled today

Earlier this month, the co-operative registered pre-tax profits of £6.82m – an increase of 433% on the previous year.

The huge rise in profits is largely down to the success of Dale Farm, which includes the brands Dromona, Spelga and Rowan Glen.

The creation of the Dunmanbridge facility is part of a wider £39m investment, which has seen a volume increase of 25% in 2015-16 in packed cheese products.