Valio to cut costs with dairy factory closures

Valio is to close a string of sites in a six year restructuring strategy.
Under the E50 million plan, Valio will cease production at Sotkamo in central Finland and Turku in south west Finland in 2003. Factories in Rovaniemi in the north of the country and Kouvola in the south east will then close in 2004. The company’s plant at Tampere in the south west will cease production in 2008.
Production of children’s food and ice cream will be transferred to Valio’s plant at Turenki.
The company’s plant at Riihimaki, southern Finland, plays a central role in the restructure. The site’s processing capacity will be doubled by 2008. Riihimaki will also become one of the company’s five major distribution centres. The others will be Helsinki and Tuusula in southern Finland, Jyvaskyla in central Finland and Oulu in Western Finland.
Valio claims the strategy will save it E16.8 million a year.