UK: Wyke Farms opens new export centre

UK-based cheesemaker Wyke Farms has announced the opening of an export “centre of excellence” with increased maturing and dispatch storing space and an on-site packaging facility.

According to a company press release, the cheese production capacity of aging was increased by an additional 2,500 tonnes of cheddar stocks since demand for Wyke Farms’ flagship 18-month-old Ivy Reserve cheddar has seen an increase in demand worldwide.

Besides the increased production capacity, the centre also features a larger cheese dispatch storage, a long-life packing line for cheese exports, and a museum area with retired equipment from the past 200 years.

Rich Clothier, managing director of Wyke Farms, said: “This investment, supported by the RDPE growth program is vital in preparing our business to service our growing export markets across the world. Built to the highest environmental standards this export hub will allow us to continue to export more of my Grandmothers Ivy’s Reserve Vintage cheddar to over 160 countries in a post Brexit world, in the most environmentally responsible way helping to secure jobs and livelihoods of people in Somerset, the heart of Cheddar”.

The expansion was supported by a £1.3 million ($1.8 million) grant under the UK government’s RDPE growth program.

Source: Wyke Farms