Oswestry cheese factory plans 'robot forklift charging bay' as part of new expansion
A north Shropshire dairy packing plant is planning to expand its operations with a new building for factory robots.
New plans lodged by Arla Foods for its plant on Maes y Clawdd in Oswestry show the firm is planning to build new infrastructure for robot pallet movers at the plant.
Arla Foods employs more than 350 staff at its Oswestry factory, a cheese cutting, packing and dispatch facility which handles a range of product lines for the firm.
The firm has applied to Shropshire Council's planning department to confirm the construction of a new, 100-square-metre building is allowed under permitted development rules, which cover certain types of changes without the need for full planning permission.
The company says the building will be used to expand robotic operations at the factory with a new charging bay for robotic forklifts at the plant, set to be used to move pallets around the site.
No specific details are given on the application about how the firm intends to use the robots in Oswestry - but Arla currently uses around 90 robotic "Automated Guided Vehicles" at their Aylesbury dairy products site for moving milk pallets through the cold store and dispatch processes.
If approved, the new building will be constructed on grassland next to the factory.
The application and documents can be viewed on Shropshire Council's planning portal under reference 25/03343/CPL.
You can find out more about planning applications and planned roadworks where you live by visiting publicnoticeportal.uk.
