British cheese industry award goes to Woolley

The British Cheese Board has presented Glyn Woolley with its prestigious Bath & West Cheese Industry Award. The annual award, which recognises outstanding contributions to the UK cheese industry in the areas of production, marketing, research or training, was accepted by Woolley’s colleague Helen Dallimore on his behalf on 29 May. The award recognises Glyn’s many years in the dairy industry, and particularly his contribution to the development of exports of UK speciality cheeses.

Nigel White, secretary of the British Cheese Board says: “Glyn’s contribution to the cheese industry has been considerable and this award recognises his impressive career. His commitment to the dairy industry and expert knowledge are both testaments to the success of his business, Coombe Castle International (CCI), and show why Glyn is one of the top cheese exporters in the UK. By working closely with UK suppliers and overseas customers, Glyn has cemented strong relationships along the way and has clearly shown himself to be a great ambassador for British cheese.”

Woolley notes,  “I am thrilled to have won the Bath & West Cheese Industry Award this year. I feel very lucky to be working in an industry which has enabled me to shape my own dairy exporting business and concentrate on speciality cheese and dairy, which is something I feel particularly passionate about. Having grown up on a farm in West Wales I have always appreciated the hardships that farmers go through and nothing gave me greater pleasure than getting an order for a farmhouse cheese from 5,000 miles away. The order might have been small but I knew the uplift and pride for the farmer knowing his cheese was being bought in Japan was immense.

“The Bath & West Cheese Industry Award I’ve been honoured with means more than anything else because it’s recognition from friends and comrades in my industry of the ambassadorial part of my life in cheese. I am proud to accept it and privileged to work with such great people.”

Woolley started in the dairy industry in 1965 as a Unigate trainee and worked in various functions including export. He left the Unigate Group in 1980 and was the inspiration and creator of Coombe Castle International, helped by others, taking control of the company in 1988. CCI is a three times winner of the Queen’s Award for Exports and is one of the UK’s leading exporters of speciality cheese with a particular focus on the US and Canada.