First Milk invests in clean energy

First Milk, the farmer owned food business, has just commenced two major investment projects at its Haverfordwest Creamery in Pembrokeshire, UK. Nearly £7 million (€8.3m) is being invested in a  new effluent treatment plant and the installation of new boilers which run on clean burn natural gas. These projects come on top of a £9 million of investment in recent years.

The investment in new gas boilers, which are replacing the current heavy fuel oil units, will reduce carbon emissions at the site by 3,500 tonnes per year. As part of planning for the effluent treatment plant, First Milk developed a partnership with Natural Resources Wales, which targets reducing not only the environmental footprint of the creamery, but also a large group of farms that supply it.

Finally, further investments at the creamery are planned for 2014 and 2015. Part of these plans will involve increasing capacity at the site to meet growing demand for its cheeses. As part of this investment drive, the company is actively recruiting for more milk in West Wales.