The business, based in the province, is expanding its cheese facility at Dunmanbridge, County Tyrone.
The initiative will increase the site’s cheese producing capacity by 20,000 tonnes per year, while also expanding its whey protein concentrate capacity.
Work is already underway, and the expanded operation is expected to go live in February 2025.
The move will see Dale Farm integrate new technologies and equipment at the site and enhance its sustainability credentials.
The company will upgrade and replace existing site-wide services and utilities, introduce a new high-speed automated cheese-slicing line, increase its warehouse capacity, and invest in new product development.
Nick Whelan, group chief executive, stated that the investment will position Dale Farm as a leading European Cheddar cheese player.
“Dale Farm has built a strong reputation as a leader in Cheddar production, and thanks to our reputation for quality, sustainability, and consistency, we are seeing strong customer growth in the category,” he said.
“We are already exporting to 40 countries, and with this investment, we want to build on that momentum and future-proof our operation at Dunmanbridge for decades to come.”
Whelan added, “We have been granted a patent for Cheddar produced at the site and are on-boarding new technologies and digital transformation.”
The company highlighted that the investment follows Dale Farm’s “successive years of impressive growth” across the UK, Europe, and beyond, as it already exports to 40 countries worldwide.
According to the company, the expansion “will mark one of the largest ever single investments by a Northern Ireland agri-food company.”
The facility currently employs 345 people and sources milk from 760 local farms.
Dale Farm produces a range of products including milk, cheese, butter, ice lollies, and ice cream under brands such as Dale Farm, Dromona, and Mullin’s. The company has eight production facilities in the UK.
