The Isle of Man Creamery celebrated the success of its new carton line with an official opening event at the Creamery last weekend.

The new style cartons were introduced in May this year and offer a fresh design and new screw cap which improves usability and freshness once opened. Twelve months of planning and an ?800,000 investment was put into the new production line which was sourced from a specialist manufacturer in Italy. The state of the art machine produces the standard one pint cartons as well as the newly introduced 189ml snacking cartons and the 950ml family sized cartons.

Managing Director, Findlay Macleod said: ‘We are delighted with the results of the investment in the new carton line. The new design and packaging have been very well received by our customers and the new sizes available are really strengthening our offering on-Island. The massive investment in this machine shows our commitment to our loyal customers who continue to support the Creamery and the 31 local farms from across the whole Island, that form the farmers’ cooperative that has supplied us with almost 20 million litres of milk so far this year.

‘The new machine has helped us to improve the quality and convenience of our milk as the screw cap means that the product remains fresh and adds an extra few days to the effective shelf life of the milk. The fact that the filler is fully enclosed in a hygienic cabinet also helps to improve general hygiene. The machine is also the most energy efficient on the market and is a real credit to Galdi, the manufacturer.’

To help celebrate the success, the Creamery has teamed up with local charity Manx Cancer Help and is delighted to announce a one year partnership with a Manx Cancer Help advert appearing on the side of the new 950ml cartons. Patrons of the charity, James Toseland and Katie Melua attended the launch event and saw the production line in action.

Chief Executive Officer of Manx Cancer Help, Andrea Chambers said: ‘We are thrilled to have been involved in this launch event of new technology for Isle of Man Creamery and we wish them continued success as a much valued local business. We have really enjoyed working with them on this project and the advertising of our service on the new milk cartons is a really effective way of getting our message directly into homes of people on the Isle of Man who might be struggling with the effects of a cancer diagnosis. Taking care of your psychological health is crucial to healthy living and recovery from illness and is a very specialist area of health care. There are many ways we can offer support at Manx Cancer Help and we are always happy to talk to anyone who might be struggling to discuss the best support for each individual.

‘We are delighted that our patrons Katie and James were able to make the trip to support this event and the charity. They are very passionate about the work that we are doing and their help in promoting our services is invaluable. Many thanks to them both for donning wellies and a hairnet for Manx Cancer Help today!’

Findlay added: ‘We are proud to be working with such a worthwhile local charity and hope that the support we are able to offer them, by way of advertising on our cartons, will really help to encourage people to contact this superb charity when they are in need of support.

‘It was fantastic to be able to welcome representatives of Manx Cancer Help and their patrons, James and Katie, to the Creamery along with other special guests including representatives from Government, local farmers and the media. I would like to thank everyone for their support of the continued growth of the Creamery and our commitment to the local community.’

Photo - Katie Melua and James Toseland officially opening the new carton line machine.