Alistair Darling officially opened the new Arla plant

The state-of-the-art development near Lockerbie has created about 100 jobs and was officially opened by Scottish Secretary Alistair Darling.

The facility has been built on a site next to an existing creamery operated by the Cheese Company.

It has been developed by the dairy firm to service major contracts with supermarkets in Scotland.

Arla's chief executive, Tim Smith, said the location had a lot of points in its favour.

He said that the Cheese Company had a piece of land adjacent to the site which allowed easier access to water, power and other utilities.

"Rather than simply building a dairy and having to create those extra utility sources we were able to utilise a shared facility with them," said Mr Smith.

'Right buttons'

"We surveyed a number of sites thinking about where we might go but Lockerbie seemed to press all the right buttons as it were," he added.

Mr Darling said: "This is a major investment for Dumfries and Galloway, bringing more than 100 jobs to this rural area.

"During my tour of the Arla Foods dairy I have seen some of the most modern and technologically advanced equipment of its kind in action.

"Meeting staff engaged in a range of work has given me an insight into the activities of the dairy and the importance of this expansion to the local economy."