100 new jobs in Muller Market Drayton expansion
A £17 million expansion at Shropshire's Muller Wiseman dairy will create 100 new jobs, it was announced today.
The new butter plant – the biggest of its kind in the country – will be created at the company's Market Drayton dairy to cash in on Shropshire's dairy farming expertise.
The plant will use 90,000 tons of cream produced by the Muller Wiseman group each year to create up to 45,000 tons of butter.
The 100 jobs will be taken on over the course of the year, with production due to begin in the autumn.
Company boss Ronald Kers announced the plans at the Semex dairy industry conference in Glasgow.
The plant will use existing buildings at the Market Drayton site, which already employs 1,000 people
The news has been welcomed by civic leaders in the town, who said it is a huge boost.
Environment Secretary and North Shropshire MP Owen Paterson said the news was good for the UK economy as a whole.
"We are a net importer of dairy products – 22 per cent of the food we consume are imports we could produce here. We can't produce mangoes, but we can produce dairy products."
Mr Paterson said Muller had so far had little use for the cream it had produced and had been forced to sell it on the global commodity market.
Mayor of Market Drayton, Councillor Steve Glover, said: "It is really welcome news when you see the state of the economy. It is a big boost for the town, it is such a big company and the town has adopted them."
Roger Hughes, Shropshire councillor for Market Drayton West, said: "It is fantastic, it is a good number of jobs for the town.
"Not only that but there will be people looking for work after the closure of the Dairy Crest site in Crudgington in Telford."
By Dani Wozencroft
