Lactalis is investing in a dairy-desserts manufacturing site in Czechia, a plant that supplies domestic and international customers.

The French dairy giant is spending €9m ($10.5m) on projects that will upgrade production, automate logistics and make changes to energy supply at its plant in Ostrava.

The work includes the installation of a new production line for Termix, which Lactalis described as the “leading” brand in the Czech dairy-desserts market.  

The line is expected to be commissioned in the final quarter of the year.

Lactalis, which owns the Lactel and Président brands, is also installing a natural-gas steam boiler at the plant to replace externally supplied steam generated from coal.  

Work on the boiler has already started and is due for completion next year, the representative said. 

The company is also planning to build a new warehouse for packaging materials and progressively automate its distribution centre through autonomous guided vehicles.  

Both projects are expected to be completed in 2028. 

“These investments reflect our confidence in the growth potential of the Czech market and our commitment to continuing the modernisation of our industrial facilities. They will also help improve our environmental performance, operational flexibility and the quality of service we provide to our customers and consumers,” a spokesperson said. 

Lactalis operates two production sites in Czechia: the Ostrava plant, which makes yogurts, dairy desserts, fresh products and dairy specialties; and a site Klatovy, which produces cheese.

The company has owned the Ostrava facility since 2007. In addition to catering to the Czech market, the site supplies central European countries and other export destinations, depending on the product category. 

Last month, Lactalis said it is investing in quark production at a manufacturing site in Germany. 

The company is to spend around €50m ($57m) at its site in Neuburg, Bavaria, to add quark to the facility’s output.  

Lactalis is aiming for the site to produce around 40,000 metric tonnes of quark and 104,000 metric tonnes of whey by 2030.  

The plant would reach a total annual production volume of approximately 308,000 metric tonnes. 

The Neuburg site, which also specialises in producing milk, cream, yogurts and desserts, will move to a continuous three-shift system running seven days a week.  

Lactalis has six sites in Germany and employs around 1,300 staff in the country.