Allister welcomes Dale Farm investment
13 March 2010
TUV Leader Jim Allister has welcomed the £36 million investment by Dale Farm in its plants as ‘a shot in the arm’ for a vital part of our agri-food industry.
In a statement Mr Allister said:-
“Sometimes when an announcement such as this is made there is a tendancy to focus on the welcome contribution of Invest NI, rather than recognising that it is the company which is putting up the lion’s share of the money and taking the risk. Of course, it is right to acknowledge the £4 m from EU and Invest NI sources, but the balance of the £36m is coming from Dale Farm, the subsidiary of farmer-based co-operative United Dairy Farmers. This is a tremendous vote of confidence by them in the future.
“Dale Farm are absolutely right to recognise that the only way to stay competitive and push ahead in these tough times is to invest in such a way as will improve the production cost ratio, develop new added value products and put extra focus on stimulating increased foreign sales, which is such an imperative in a region where liquid production so outstrips indigenous consumption. Whereas consolidating what we’ve got is vital, developing new opportunities is the key to growth.
“I, therefore, highly commend Dale Farm for their investment and particularly welcome the fact that over £7 million of the capital spend will be to improve the North Antrim facilities. The £6.8m investment at Pennybridge, so as to make this plant the leading milk processing plant and centre of excellence for fresh dairy products, is not just really good local news but something of provincial importance.
“The addition of an on site bottle manufacturing plant by Nampak, with a ‘through the wall’ connection to Dakle Farm, is another exciting aspect of this development at Pennybridge. Nampak is a respected leader in its field and so to now get it on site with Dale Farm underpins the stability and future of the Pennybridge operation. So I’m delighted to see Nampak, one of Europe’s largest manufacturers of containers in the food and drink industry, come to Ballymena and trust they will have a long and prosperous relationship with the town.”
