Press release - SCE E-Piim, Royal A-Ware and Interfood Group join forces to develop ultramodern dairy facility in Estonia

April 22 2021 | SCE E-Piim, Royal A-Ware and Interfood Group join forces for sustainable growth and increased productivity by establishing the most modern dairy facility in Estonia, in the Baltic states. This is significantly upgrading Estonian dairy industry’s capacity and reinforcing dairy farm-based development efforts in the region.

On April 21, 2021 SCE E-Piim, Royal A-Ware and Interfood Group, two family-owned private companies in the Netherlands, signed a shareholders’ and investment agreement. Meierei B.V., a joint venture owned by Royal A-Ware and Interfood Group, acquired 24.99% of the company AS E-Piim Tootmine.

According to E-Piim’s manager Jaanus Murakas, the partnering companies have closely cooperated during the past years to find the best possible solution for the plant technology related to the dairy facility to be established in the town of Paide. The new plant will be established with the objective of setting up sustainable and climate-neutral production.

Meierei B.V.’s representative says that by establishing the new dairy facility, the Estonian dairy industry will take a 30-year developmental leap forward. Selection of the building’s architectural design and technology is guided by the highest contemporary quality and hygiene requirements, while premium automation and digitalization solutions are employed in the plant’s process management and quality control.

Climate-neutrality and sustainability are set as priority goals in establishing the new plant complex. All of the thermal energy required at the plant will be produced from renewable energy sources and electricity use is planned to gradually switch to carbon neutral solutions in the future. A solar park will also be built on the plant’s premises.

SCE E-Piim, that unites farmers in Estonia and Latvia, is guided in its operations by the cooperative’s new sustainability standard entitled “Caring Farm”. This standard formulates and sets goals for its activity as pertaining to animal welfare, climate, quality and economic sustainability.

Construction of the plant will commence in the summer of 2021 and the plant will be ready to start operations about two years later in the summer of 2023.