'Future bright' for dairy after German investment

Staff package tubs of clotted cream for distribution to supermarkets

The new German owners of a dairy in Cornwall say "the future's really bright" for the business after substantial investment in new products.

The Ehrmann group bought Trewithen Dairy in June 2024 and is spending more than £20m on a new state-of-the-art chilled dessert facility, due to be completed next year.

The investment has secured more than 200 jobs, with the hope more staff could be taken on when the new production line comes online.

Paul Berne, the CEO of Ehrmann UK, said: "The future's really bright for a business like ours... it's great to see this investment coming into the UK, it's really great for the local economy. "

Ehrmann high protein products are being produced at a Cornish diary

He said: "We employ more than 200 people on our site in Cornwall and over the course of the next five years as we develop our site, as we develop our capabilities, we're expecting to bring new jobs to the area.

"We're proud to be a big part of the Cornish economy, we work with 40 Cornish farmers so that's bringing Cornish milk into our dairy every day which we're turning into fresh dairy products.

"They (Ehrmann) want to make sure they've got access to Cornish milk, that was important to them."

Ehrmann UK CEO Paul Berne is on a mission is to push the brand in the UK

Before the sale, Trewithen Dairy had been owned and run by the Clarke family, at Graymare Farm near Lostwithiel, since 1976, producing cream, milk, butter and yoghurt.

Mr Berne would not disclose how much the German food giant paid to buy the Cornish site, but was positive about the future.

"The Ehrmann brand has been reasonably successful in the UK, it's very successful in other areas of the world, really their mission is to launch the Ehrmann brand in the UK," he said.

The Ehrmann group is one of the largest milk processing companies in Germany.

Its website says it employs more than 2,400 staff and sells its products to more than 70 countries worldwide.