These photographs show camels and goats being milked by equipment designed by a Shropshire company.

Over the years, Ellesmere-based Fullwood Limited has been asked to design milking machines for different animals including mares in Siberia, sows in Japan, camels in the Middle East and for a llama milking project at London Zoo.

Peter Lancaster, chief executive, said the company developed its first camel-milking parlour in the later stages of 2004 and installed it in the Middle East in 2005 where camel milk, as in many north African countries, is widely drunk and processed into yoghurt and cheese.

He said sheep and goat milking was particularly prevalent in the countries around the Mediterranean. And in Greece, for example, some 90 per cent of the company’s business comes from providing sheep-milking equipment.

Buffalos are widely milked in countries such as Pakistan, Egypt and in Northern Italy, he said.

“Over the years, we have been asked to design many and varied types of milking machine for different animals including mares in Siberia, sows in Japan which gave our development some problems due to the number of teats and a llama milking project at London Zoo,” he said.

“Fullwood was established in 1785 when our first product was Annatto dye used by dairy farmers in the cheese-making process. Our first move into milking equipment came in the 1920s with very basic milking machines for cows.

“These became more sophisticated, gaining momentum from a number of export markets we had begun to supply in the 1940s and 1950s.

“These export markets led us in turn to requests for milking equipment for other animals to the extent that sheep, goats, buffalo and more latterly camels provide us with a growing part of our overall business.”

He said every dairy farm requires a refrigerated tank in which to cool and store the milk and the company manufactures and supplies this equipment – and also equipment to process milk into products such as cheese, yoghurt and cream.

By Deborah Collins