Milk Link, the UK's largest cheese manufacturer and leading dairy cooperative, has won an outstanding 48 awards at the prestigious Nantwich International Cheese Show. Leading the roll of honour was Milk Link's Lockerbie Creamery, in Dumfriesshire, Scotland which was awarded the Reserve Supreme Champion (UK) trophy for its Mature Cheddar and the Danisco Trophy for Best Vegetarian Cheddar.

The Lockerbie Creamery has had a long history of making award winning cheese and butter for over fifty years. The winning of the Reserve Supreme Champion title is a further boost for the creamery which last month unveiled a new distinctive look, for its Lockerbie Cheddar brand. The Lockerbie Cheddar brand combines traditional flavours with modern cheese making and has proved a huge hit with consumers in Scotland since its original launch in 2007. The new packaging highlights Lockerbie's unique flavour, with it being a cheese graded to be both sweet and creamy but also one with "a wee bit of bite" which is so important for a good Cheddar.

In addition to Lockerbie's gold, a further ten top prizes were won by Milk Link's creameries at the show: Taw Valley Creamery, in North Tawton, Devon, won five including the DSM Trophy for Best Single Vintage Cheddar; The Christian Hanson Trophy for its Double Gloucester; the Cryovac Award for Best Cheese with Health Benefits; and further gold awards for its Red Leicester and Organic Cheddar. Reece's Creamery in Malpas, Cheshire, won the Daresbury Cup in the Champion Farmhouse Coloured Cheshire, and two golds for its traditional Caerphilly and Cheshire cheeses; and Tuxford & Tebbutt Creamery in Leicestershire won the Cooper Thornhill Trophy for Best Vegetarian Cheese and a further gold award for its mature Blue Stilton.

Milk Link went on to win a further five silver prizes, 22 bronze prizes and 10 very highly commended awards. The company's Organic Cheddar was a particular hit with the judges, winning awards across the spectrum - a gold, silver and bronze award.

Commenting on this latest set of results, Neil Kennedy, Chief Executive of Milk Link said: "We are absolutely thrilled that the quality of our cheeses has been recognised at the highly regarded Nantwich International Cheese Show, especially as Milk Link's products were in competition with 2,655 other cheeses from over 30 countries. Awards wins, such as the Reserve Supreme Champion trophy for our Lockerbie Creamery, demonstrate Milk Link's dedication to product quality and consistency.

"Of course, we could not enjoy any of this success without the expertise of our dedicated workforce."

Milk Link produces a range of branded cheeses and butters, including Tickler, the fabulous extra-mature cheddar produced in the heart of Devon; The Red One, the really remarkable Red Leicester; Lockerbie Cheddar and Butter, unique products with a special kick and "a wee bit of bite"; the Cadog range of bilingually-branded cheeses; and Moo Milk, the extended shelf life milk.

The company manufactures over 20 varieties of cheddars, Blue Stilton's and British regional cheeses for the retail, food service and ingredients sectors and employs over 1,000 staff across five cheese and dairy processing facilities and its consumer packing facility at Oswestry, Shropshire.

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Milk Link, the UK's largest cheese manufacturer and leading dairy cooperative, has achieved an exceptional set of awards at this year's Royal Welsh Show, with each of its Creameries picking up at least one gold prize and Tuxford & Tebbutt Creamery in Leicestershire, scooping Supreme Champion (M&S Champion) for its blue Stilton.

This is the second year in a row that Milk Link has won the prestigious Supreme Champion award.

19 awards were won in total, an impressive seven of which were gold. Milk Link's newly acquired Llandyrnog Creamery, in Denbighshire, Wales had its first Royal Welsh Show with Milk Link since the acquisition and proved a resounding hit with the judges. It won three gold awards for its extra mature cheddar, organic mature cheddar and its butter.

Whilst Lockerbie Creamery in Dumfriesshire, Scotland won gold for its mild white cheddar; Taw Valley Creamery in North Tawton, Devon won gold for its reduced fat cheese; and Reece's Creamery in Malpas, Cheshire won gold for its Caerphilly cheese.

But it didn't stop there. Milk Link's Creameries were awarded a further three silver awards for Lockerbie Creamery's mild cheddar and Llandyrnog Creamery's mature cheddar and vegetarian mature cheddar. In addition to this Milk Link won eight bronze awards.

Commenting on this outstanding set of results, Neil Kennedy, Chief Executive of Milk Link said: "This latest set of awards highlights the excellence of the cheeses and butters produced by Milk Link across the board; whether it's blue Stilton, Caerphilly cheese or reduced fat cheese - Milk Link's products are first class. It is also great to see that all five of our Creameries, including our newly acquired Llandyrnog Creamery, have triumphed at the Show by winning gold awards.

"As with all of the prizes Milk Link wins, we couldn't achieve it without the skills and dedication of our workforce."

Milk Link produces a range of branded cheeses and butters, including Tickler, the fabulous extra-mature cheddar produced in the heart of Devon; The Red One, the really remarkable Red Leicester; Lockerbie Cheddar and Butter, unique products with a special kick and "a wee bit of bite"; the Cadog range of bilingually-branded cheeses; and Moo Milk, the extended shelf life milk which comes as full-fat, semi-skimmed, one %, skimmed and with different flavours.

The company manufactures over 20 varieties of cheddars, Blue Stilton's and British regional cheeses for the retail, food service and ingredients sectors and employs over 1,000 staff across five cheese and dairy processing facilities and its consumer packing facility at Oswestry, Shropshire.

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Milk Link triumphed at the Great Yorkshire Show with its creameries picking up a total of 17 awards for the quality of their cheeses and butters.

The Lockerbie Creamery continued its winning streak, with awards for Best Butter in Show, along with first prizes for its salted and unsalted butter and its Lockerbie Mature Cheddar. This follows awards at the Royal Highland Show, where Lockerbie unveiled a new-look, new-feel brand, and won Supreme Champion for its butter. (For further information visit www.lockerbiecreamery.co.uk).

Milk Link's Reece's Creamery in Cheshire was awarded Best Wensleydale in Show and first prizes for its Wensleydale and Cylindrical Cheshire cheeses. Meanwhile Milk Link's Tuxford & Tebbutt Stilton Creamery collected first and third prizes for its finest Stilton. The Taw Valley Creamery in Devon continued its excellent award season with a further six awards for the quality of its Cheddars and Red Leicester.

Neil Kennedy, Chief Executive of Milk Link commented on the results: "We are absolutely delighted that the excellence of our cheeses and butters has been recognised at the highly regarded Great Yorkshire Show. We are proud that so many of our creameries have been recognised today, which is testament to the exceptionally high quality of our products and the dedication and talent of our workforce. We are overjoyed to build on the success we had in 2008 with these new awards."

Milk Link produces a range of branded cheeses and butters, including Tickler, the fabulous extra-mature cheddar produced in the heart of Devon; The Red One, the really remarkable Red Leicester; Lockerbie Cheddar and Butter, unique products with a special kick and "a wee bit of bite"; the Cadog range of bilingually-branded cheeses; and Moo Milk, the extended shelf life milk which comes as full-fat, semi-skimmed, one %, skimmed and with different flavours.

The company manufactures over 20 varieties of cheddars, Blue Stilton's and British regional cheeses for the retail, food service and ingredients sectors and employs over 1,000 staff across five cheese and dairy processing facilities and its consumer packing facility at Oswestry, Shropshire.

For further information and product images, please contact the Milk Link Press Office on +44 (0)207 861 3207.

Alternatively, please contact:

Amy Ashworth
aashworth@goodrelations.co.uk

Anna Terrell
aterrell@goodrelations.co.uk

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Milk Link, the UK's largest cheese manufacturer and leading dairy cooperative, triumphed at today's Royal Highland Show being awarded the title of 'Supreme Champion' for both its Taw Valley Mature Cheddar and its Lockerbie Butter. This is the second year in a row that Milk Link has won the title of Supreme Champion in both cheese and butter categories.

The Creameries also won the following 18 awards at the show. For Lockerbie, the mild cheddar won silver and bronze; the mature cheddar won two bronze awards, the half-fat cheese won a silver award; and the butter won three silver awards and one bronze in addition to Supreme Champion. Taw Valley won a gold and silver award for its mild cheddar; a gold award for its Churnton brand; the Red Leicester won a bronze award; and the Taw Valley mature cheddar won two gold awards and a bronze along with Supreme Champion.

The win is just one celebration for Lockerbie at the Royal Highland Show, as the brand unveiled its new-look,new-feel Lockerbie Cheddar. The Lockerbie Cheddar brand combines traditional flavours with modern cheese making and has proved a huge hit with consumers in Scotland since its original launch in 2007. Now the revamp aims to highlight Lockerbie's unique flavour which not only reflects a cheese that is graded to be both sweet and creamy but is also one with a 'special kick' giving it "a wee bit of bite" which is so important for a good Cheddar.

The Lockerbie Creamery has had a long history of making award winning butter and cheese for over fifty years and Lockerbie Cheddar, which is matured for nine months, will have new standout blue packaging and allow consumers to differentiate a truly Scottish Cheddar from other competitor brands that are imported into Scotland.

Taw Valley, set in the heart of Devon, produces a full range of award-winning Cheddar, Red Leicester and Double Gloucester. The Creamery is also the home of Tickler, a fabulous extra mature cheddar. Taw Valley had a remarkable 2008 winning a total of 95 awards (including 31 Gold awards) for the quality and taste of its cheeses.

Neil Kennedy, Chief Executive of Milk Link commented on the results: "We are absolutely delighted that the excellence of our cheeses and butters has been recognised at the highly regarded Royal Highland Show, especially as we are celebrating the new look Lockerbie brand. This is testament to the exceptionally high quality of our products and the dedication and talent of our workforce. We are thrilled to build on the success we had in 2008 with these new awards."

The Cheese Company manufactures over 20 varieties of cheddars, Blue Stiltons and British regional cheeses for the retail, food service and ingredients sectors and employs over 1,000 staff across five cheese and dairy processing facilities and its consumer packing facility at Oswestry, Shropshire.

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The summer county show season started in royal style yesterday at the Devon County Show, with HRH Prince Edward the Earl of Wessex paying a visit to Milk Link's stand.

Milk Link, the UK's leading integrated dairy business, also won five awards at the Show, including first place in the Double Gloucester category for its Taw Valley cheese.

The excellence of the cheeses produced by Milk Link's Taw Valley Creamery was recognised at the Show through the winning of four awards - first and second place in the Double Gloucester category, second place in the Mature Cheddar Cheese category and third place in the Low Fat Cheese (Cheddar) category. Milk Link's Lockerbie Creamery also scooped second place in the Low Fat Cheese (Cheddar) category.

Milk Link profiled two of its finest Devon-based exports on the stand at the Show - The Red One, a russet coloured, open textured Red Leicester cheese with a mellow and tangy taste, and Tickler, a fabulous extra mature cheddar. Both products, produced at Milk Link's Devon-based Taw Valley Creamery in North Tawton, were shown to Prince Edward who was interested to hear about the award winning Creamery and Milk Link's farmer owned business.

Neil Kennedy, Chief Executive of Milk Link said: "This is the most important local show for our Taw Valley Creamery and so we were particularly pleased that Prince Edward personally came along to the Milk Link stand to find out more about the Creamery and its range of award winning products.

"We were also delighted to receive awards for our Double Gloucester, Mature Cheddar and Low Fat Cheese. It is a real testament to the hard work and expertise of our workforce."

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Milk Link, the UK's leading integrated dairy business, has launched The Red One, a russet coloured, open textured Red Leicester cheese with a mellow and tangy taste. This new cheese, which started selling in Morrisons from 9th February and is produced at Milk Link's award winning Taw Valley Creamery in Devon, is strongly branded as a 'Great British Red' in order to rejuvenate the territorial category - just like brands did for cheddar.

Milk Link believes that this new cheese will play an important role in stimulating interest and growth in Red Leicester, which is the second largest British hard cheese (by volume) in the UK, with the widest geographical stretch and highest household penetration rate of all territorial cheeses.

Taw Valley Creamery has a long history of making award winning Red Leicester and this cheese, which is matured for six months, is another excellent example from the Creamery. The Red One has already been chosen as a finalist in The Grocer 'Branded Excellence Awards' in February.

Rebecca Miah, Senior Brand Manager, commented: "We're all extremely excited to be launching The Red One - about its bold branding, which makes it stand out from the 'wall of yellow' in supermarket aisles, to the excellent taste that has been perfected by our Taw Valley graders - this product really is first class and perfect for the family market we are targeting.

"The Red One is a direct response to the market and will shake up the category - just like the Tickler brand has done in the cheddar category."

The Red One will be sold in 400g packs and priced competitively against cheddar, with a RRP of £3.39.

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Milk Link, the UK's largest producer of cheese, has made a further significant capital investment at its award winning Taw Valley Creamery in Devon with the installation of a state of the art fully automated block-forming system. The new £1.5 million block-former system will further improve the quality of the cheese produced at the Creamery, increasing yields and delivering greater production efficiencies.

The new block-forming system is fitted with double vacuum assembly which allows the block-formers to fill whilst pressing the cheddar into shape, significantly improving the quality and yield of the cheese. As the block-forming system is adjustable to control different recipes, further block shape improvements will also be realised with this installation. In addition, the system incorporates an automated bag loading facility which reduces the need for manual bagging, allowing Milk Link to considerably improve efficiencies at Taw Valley.

Brian Kerr, Head of Operations at Taw Valley, said "The installation of this new generation block-forming system is a further demonstration of our commitment to employing cutting edge dairy technology and will reinforce Taw Valley's position as the UK's leading cheese creamery. It will allow us to be more cost effective whilst continuing to deliver award winning, high quality cheese to our customers - something which Milk Link is dedicated to achieving."

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