A Welsh cheese factory is about to receive a £20 million upgrade, making it the most sustainable site of its kind in Europe, running solely on renewable electricity.
With the help of a £3 million cash grant from the Welsh Government’s Business Innovation and Tourism Escalator Scheme, the Mona Island Dairy factory is converting its existing 25,000 sq.ft facility at Holyhead. Once complete, the factory will churn out 7,000 tonnes of cheese a year and create 100 new jobs for the area.
Managing Director Ronald Akkerman said the project would see turnover rise to £25m by 2022 and set new standards for the sector, combining innovative and traditional methods to create Cheddar, Gouda, Edam and a range of artisan cheeses using milk from local farms. “This is the largest new development in the food sector in North Wales this year and is attracting an enormous amount of interest across the dairy and cheese industry in the UK and Europe,” he said. Additional money in the form of loans and equity will contribute to the site’s transformation, which is due to be finished in September.
