Valio is investing €30m in a new cheese maturation warehouse to be built at its Joensuu production plant. Construction work on the warehouse expansion, to be built adjacent to the production plant, will start immediately and will be completed by the end of 2027.
The investment covers the construction of the Valio Joensuu production plant’s maturation warehouse expansion and automation of its operations. At the same time, the old maturation warehouse will be renovated to accommodate the production lines being relocated from the Vantaa production plant.
Cheese slicing and grating, as well as processed cheese production, are being relocated from Vantaa to Joensuu. The investment is part of Valio’s plans to gradually move production from the Vantaa plant to Joensuu during 2025-2027.
Joensuu plant director Petri Liukka said: “The expansion will create a total of about one hundred new jobs at the Joensuu production plant within a couple of years. New positions will be created as the new production lines and facilities are gradually taken into use.
“At this stage, we have already recruited 15 new employees, and a few dozen more positions will become available on the slicing lines later this year. Valio employees from the Vantaa plant have also transferred to positions in Joensuu.”