Muller expansion set to create 50 new jobs in Telford

Last year the firm revealed plans to invest £100 million in its business as it looks to tap into huge growth in its markets.

A planning application has now been lodged with Telford & Wrekin Council to build an extension onto its food production facility at Donnington Wood Business Park.

If the plans are given the go-ahead, the business will be able to double its production of 350 million pots of yoghurt a year to 700 million.

A planning application states that employee numbers would also be boosted from 333 to 385.

A report, submitted with the planning application, states: "The investment will create a number of new roles in the plant, these include engineering, laboratory, site services, production operatives and stores operatives.

"The investment by Muller into the Telford site shows that we have long term commitments towards our production site in Telford which can only be positive for employment, manufacturing and business in the area."

The new two-storey 9,600 sq m extension would contain three new production and packing lines, a warehouse, cooling tunnel, dispatch areas, loading bays, plant and equipment control rooms and offices.

The ground floor will be split into two areas – packing and storage.

The report says: "The production will see an introduction of three new packing lines where the final product will be packaged into the required containers (which are also formed in this process).

"Upon completion of this process the product is then placed on pallets and transported to a long cooling tunnel where the temperature of the product is reduced for transportation.

"The next stage is either to complete the packing onto pallets and transport through the dispatch area or it enters the repack area where it is repacked into a new order for the end user.

"As well as the facility providing the route for goods leaving the plant there is also a goods inwards of dry goods and raw materials for the yoghurt.

"These will also be transported around the extension via the automated system and will be stored in the 30m high bay warehouse.

"Once required the stored goods will be fed back into the system to the required area within the building."

According to the report, there will be about 15 members of staff for every shift working within the extension.

The first floor of the extension would contain offices, electrical switch rooms and plant and equipment control rooms.

The firm's yoghurts and desserts division is centred on Shropshire, and has four major production facilities in the county.

Those include its headquarters at Market Drayton, a butter factory next door, the former Nom Dairy in Telford, which is used to make supermarket-branded yoghurts, and a desserts facility at Minsterley, where it makes Cadbury's products under licence.

A decision on the proposals is expected to be made by Telford & Wrekin Council in the upcoming months.