Independent Dumfries & Galloway dairy producer to transform Palnure factory as it prepares to expand beyond yogurt.
A Scottish dairy factory that closed in 2022 is set for a £1 million-plus transformation after being brought back into production by a nine-person restart team. Rowan Glen is investing in the Palnure site as it prepares to expand beyond yogurt into cottage cheese.
Rowan Glen is committing to invest more than £600,000 in its Palnure site alongside a £400,000 grant awarded through the Scottish Government’s Food and Drink Processing Scheme Scotland.
The project, due for completion by March 2027, will upgrade key areas of the factory, improve the layout and install new production equipment. The changes will give the independent dairy much greater flexibility over the products it can manufacture, including the capability to produce cottage cheese.
The investment comes less than four years after the previous business at Palnure closed. Rowan Glen was restarted as a new independent business by a core team of nine, led by Managing Director Alan Baxter, and its workforce has since grown to around three times the size of that original team.
Alan Baxter, Managing Director of Rowan Glen, said:
“When the previous business closed and everyone was made redundant, there was a real possibility that those 45 jobs would never return and Rowan Glen could disappear for good. A small group of us were prepared to take a big risk to make sure that wouldn’t be the end of Rowan Glen.
We knew the skills and experience that existed in the team, and we knew there was real affection for the Rowan Glen brand across Scotland. Everything we’ve achieved since has been built on the commitment and hard work of that original team and the people who have joined us along the way.
When you’re building a business, there’s rarely time to stop and appreciate how far you’ve come. This investment is one of those moments. It’s a massive step for Rowan Glen and a big vote of confidence in our people, the brand and the future of Rowan Glen.
The Scottish Government’s Food and Drink Processing grant will allow us to accelerate our plans, significantly upgrade the factory and strengthen our manufacturing capability. It will give us much more flexibility to develop new products and move into areas such as cottage cheese, creating a better platform to innovate, grow and make more great Scottish dairy products here in Palnure.”
Alongside new production equipment, the factory reconfiguration will create a high-care environment across Rowan Glen’s filling operations. This will give the business greater flexibility to produce a range of pack formats across other chilled dairy categories, including cottage cheese, opening up potential for future product innovation.
You Might Also Like:
All the milk currently used by Rowan Glen is sourced from Scottish farms in Dumfries & Galloway. The expansion could allow Rowan Glen to process greater volumes of Scottish milk as the business grows. Cottage cheese provides an additional use for skimmed milk, while cream separated at Palnure can be supplied to food manufacturing customers looking for Scottish cream.
Rowan Glen currently manufactures around 20 million pots and bottles of cultured dairy products a year, supplying both retail and foodservice customers, with its branded yogurts stocked by most major supermarket retailers across Scotland.
