A £570,000 (pounds) investment in a new waste treatment plant at Claymore Dairies in Nairn will secure vital jobs and help meet environmental targets.

Work on the construction of a liquid effluent plant, next to the creamery at the Balmakeith Industrial Estate, was completed recently. The development has been essential in a bid to ensure the economic survival of the dairy following the introduction of increased charges for the disposal of liquid waste.

The crisis facing Scotland's hard pressed dairy industry is the worst the sector has seen for many decades but investment in this type of facility at Claymore Dairies will greatly reduce water bills,allowing the creamery to remain a viable operation.

Claymore Dairies Limited employ over 100 full time staff at their Nairn site and many more farming jobs are dependent on the dairy with 35 farms in the Highlands supplying the creamery with 30 million litres of milk annually.

The development has been supported by Inverness and Nairn Enterprise (INE), part of the Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) network, with a funding package worth £70,000 (pounds) which includes a £20,000 (pounds)HIE Waste grant.

HIE Waste is a European funded initiative geared at helping businesses invest in their own waste processing facilities.

Operations Director with Claymore Dairies Limited, Ian Larg, said: "Increased charges for the disposal of liquid waste would have crippled Claymore Dairies, resulting in job losses at the creamery and at dairy farms throughout the Highlands. However, the new treatment plant, which can process 350 cubic metres of waste a day, will ensure we remain operational, delivering milk to the whole of the north of Scotland. The new plant will also help us to meet strict environmental targets"

Bill Sylvester, Chief Executive of INE said: "Claymore Dairies is a significant employer in Nairn and is extremely important to area's farming industry. Nairn is facing serious unemployment problems with the downturn in the oil fabrication industry so it is crucial that investment is made in other local industries in a bid to retain and create jobs."