3 min read - 18 Jul, 2025
Müller confirms £45m investment in Skelmersdale site
Müller UK & Ireland has unveiled plans to invest significantly in its Skelmersdale site, following the acquisition of Yew Tree Dairy, a milk processing firm, in October 2024.
Dairy giant Müller is investing £45m into the West Lancashire milk processing site to enhance its liquid milk production capacity, capability and quality, and create a flagship facility for milk drying.
With the capacity to produce 30% more powdered milk, the business will become a major producer and exporter of powdered milk products made in Britain, with milk from British farms – unlocking new growth opportunities for the site’s supplying farmers.
Following record-high milk production on farm during the 2025 spring flush, the extra drying capacity also gives the business significantly enhanced milk balancing capabilities. Completion of the site investments is expected by the end of 2026.
Dairy giant Müller is investing £45m into its Skelmersdale site, following the acquisition of Yew Tree Dairy / Picture: Müller UK & Ireland
To support the additional production, Müller is looking to recruit 40 new employees at the site. Vacancies will include control room technicians, forklift drivers, engineers, management and support positions. All vacancies will be advertised on Müller’s career website.
As part of a longer-term programme, Muller is also investing in its relationships with the site’s supplying farmers.
As a first step, the dairy company will introduce an incentivised Müller Advantage programme for all farmers directly supplying Müller Skelmersdale, an initiative that will provide farmers with the tools and support they need to proactively address areas like responsible sourcing, cow health and environmental issues. Alongside this, Müller will offer an amended pricing contract, designed to improve price stability and transparency.
The majority of Skelmersdale supplying farmers currently receive an ingredients-only price. From November 1st 2025, all Skelmersdale supplying farmers will have the option to either receive a Müller Direct Skelmersdale price, calculated using a combination of the existing Müller Direct liquid and ingredients price which uses published global indices, or a Müller Ingredients price.
The changes, which act as a first step on this journey, will create higher annualised and more stable returns for the majority of the site’s supplying farmers, creating the conditions to help plan for the future of their business.
Rob Hutchison, CEO of Müller Milk & Ingredients, commented: “Since we acquired Yew Tree Dairy, the teams have been working day and night, not just internally, but closely with its customers and suppliers to integrate the Skelmersdale operation into the wider Müller business.
“At the time of the acquisition, we said we wanted to go even further and invest significantly in this location. And that’s exactly what we’re doing, we are enhancing our liquid milk production capacity, capability and quality, and creating a flagship facility for milk drying – one of the biggest and most flexible milk balancing sites in the UK.
“With significant investment in the Skelmersdale site, its people and supplying farms, we are creating exciting new opportunities for the whole supply chain, which in turn helps us on our journey to build a better future for the British dairy sector.”
