Arla will invest €80 million to more than double mozzarella output at its Branderup Dairy in Denmark, whilst also enhancing the plant’s production with more sustainable technology.

​

Increasing global demand for mozzarella – with developing regions around the world demanding more cheese as fast food products such as pizza become more popular – prompted Arla’s major new investment at its Danish site. The move confirms Arla’s position as a world leader in the production of the iconic cheese made from buffalo's milk.

 

Arla's mozzarella production in Denmark is concentrated on Branderup and Rødkærsbro Dairies. From here, cheeses are shipped worldwide to 100 countries on all continents. Arla expects the European mozzarella cheese market alone to increase from around 650,000 tonnes in 2019 to 720,000 tonnes by 2022.

 

“We are very pleased with the expansion of Branderup Dairy,” remarked Sami Naffakh, Executive Vice President for Supply Chain. “An expansion of this size places Arla in the forefront as one of the world’s leading producers of mozzarella cheese and gives us the opportunity to build on that position as a supplier of high quality mozzarella in Europe, Asia, USA and the Middle East,” added Mr Naffakh.

 

Doubling production 

 

The expansion at Branderup Dairy will commence early in 2020. Arla will expand the milk weighing capacity, milk silo inventory, milk processing area, storage capacity and add a cheese production line to increase the annual production with 53 million kilos of mozzarella. This will more than double the current mozzarella production, so that the Dairy will produce 91 million kilos of mozzarella per year.

 

“We are very proud of our production of high quality mozzarella at Branderup Dairy and it is a very gratifying that a growing demand for our products now means that we must more than double our production,” enthused Rene Nørgaard, Senior Director of Arla's mozzarella production. “It helps create the future of dairy and I am happy for Arla, the dairy and our farmer owners.”

 

Arla will also create approximately 25 new jobs in the local market in connection with the increased capacity.

 

Sustainable expansion

 

The new investment will also see the introduction of more sustainable technology at Arla’s facility. Going forward, the dairy will reduce its use of water significantly and the expansion ensures that the dairy also can invest in green energy solutions in the future.

 

“At Arla, we work with sustainability in all aspects of dairy production from the farm to the consumer,” affirmed Rene Nørgaard. “We also assume this responsibility at Branderup Dairy and therefore we aim to reuse as much water as possible, and will use the latest energy-optimised equipment for the expansion.”

 

Focusing on water reuse and other production improvements is another step on the road towards Arla's climate goal of reducing total CO2 emissions by 30 per cent by 2030 (compared to 2015 levels), and becoming CO2 neutral in 2050.

 

The design phase of the construction is already underway and the work itself will begin in early 2020. The Branderup Dairy expansion is expected to be completed in the summer of 2021.