Blaydon Dairy Farmers of Britain site bought by Medina Dairies

Jan 26 2010 by Karen Dent, The Journal

Mr White said: “It is well invested and it has a grade A BRC accreditation [food safety standard] that’s important for the food industry.

“It’s in a good location – we don’t have any manufacturing facilities north of Leeds. We operate mainly in the Midlands, the South East and Wales.”

The company runs more than 30 distribution depots around the UK and currently has manufacturing sites near Southampton and Huddersfield.

Medina chief executive Sheazad Hussain said: “This will allow the group to carry on with its ambitions to be a truly national player within the UK.

“It is also great news for all of our employees and suppliers further strengthening our position as the UK’s largest independent dairy company.”

The Blaydon dairy closed in June last year after the collapse of Dairy Farmers of Britain and the failure of a last-minute management buy-out bid. The farmer-owned co-operative went into receivership owing around £20m in unpaid milk cheques to its members.

In addition to the 300 people directly employed at the site, a further 300 jobs were also estimated to rely on the dairy.

Last night the National Farmers’ Union’s (NFU) regional director, Richard Ellison, said: “We are obviously pleased that the site has been bought as this is good news for milk processing capacity in the North East.

“It is still too early to assess the likely implications for local dairy farmers, however, the NFU hopes to meet with Medina very soon to discuss their plans.”

One North East, which worked to try to save the dairy from closure last year, also welcomed Medina’s arrival in the region.

A spokesman for the regional development agency said: “This is great news for the dairy sector following the closure of the Dairy Farmers of Britain at Blaydon last year, creating jobs and strengthening the region’s supply chain.”