Pembrokeshire Creamery Ltd. (PCL) has announced that its new liquid milk processing facility in Haverfordwest will open in the first quarter of 2024.
The company acquired the new development plot at Pembrokeshire Food Park in February of 2023 after the Welsh government and Pembrokeshire County Council completed the sale.
The announcement has been timed with the creamery’s attendance at Pembrokeshire County Show, which takes place tomorrow (Wednesday, August 16) and Thursday (August 17).
Dairy farmers have been invited to meet the company’s team at the event to find out more about the planned opening.
Managing director of Pembrokeshire Creamery Ltd., Mark McQuade, said: “We’ve already had a huge amount of interest from supermarkets and wholesalers keen to sell Welsh milk that’s been bottled here in Wales.
“We’re hoping that our presence at the show will be an opportunity for dairy farmers, customers or other suppliers to make connections and for us to start building the business relationships which will translate into long term economic benefits for Welsh farming and our rural economy.
“Ultimately, our end goal is for all Welsh milk that is sold in Wales to have been processed and bottled in Wales.”
Pembrokeshire Creamery Ltd. said it will have the capacity to bottle 60 million litres of milk in its initial 12-18 month phase, building to 120 million litres per year when it reaches full capacity.
Local processing is expected to create an estimated 60 new jobs at the Haverfordwest site in Phase 1 as well as securing or creating employment in ancillary industries and supply chains.
Pembrokeshire Creamery Ltd. has said it hopes to give UK supermarkets the opportunity to offer their Welsh customers milk that is both sourced and bottled in Wales rather than being transported to England for processing.
“By removing the need for Welsh milk to be transported to bottling plants in England, Pembrokeshire Creamery will be able to reduce food miles and increase supply chain efficiency,” the company said.
