An Arla Foods plant in Germany has been affected by a cybersecurity incident, the dairy giant has confirmed.

The Lurpak and Castello owner said “suspicious activity” had hit the co-op’s IT network as its plant in the German town of Upahl.

“Due to the security measures implemented as a result of the incident, production has been affected,” Arla said in a statement.

“Our production and IT experts are working diligently to resume normal operations at the site and we have now begun the process of systematically restarting the systems to ensure a return to full functionality.”

The Denmark-based group declined to comment further when contacted by Just Food.

Arla generated sales of €1.27bn ($1.42bn) in Germany in 2024, up 1.5% on a year earlier. Germany is Arla’s third-largest market by annual sales behind the UK and Sweden.

In 2024, Arla’s group revenues reached €13.8bn ($14.39bn), a rise on the €13.7bn generated a year earlier.

According to Arla’s 2024 annual report, the cooperative employed 1,635 staff in Germany last year. Its total headcount was 23,632.

Last month, Arla announced plans to merge with DMK, the largest dairy co-op in Germany.

The pair said in a joint statement the deal would create “the largest dairy cooperative in Europe”, with members in Denmark, Sweden, the UK, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

The transaction could bring a combined, pro-forma revenue of €19bn ($20.75bn) to the new entity, which would carry the Arla name and be headquartered in Denmark.

In 2024, DMK generated revenue of €5.1bn, down from €5.5bn a year earlier. Its brands include Milram, Oldenburger, Uniekaas, Alete Bewusst and Humana.

According to a Rabobank report published last August, Arla was the seventh-largest dairy group worldwide, based on 2023 financials. DMK ranked 18^th.

Last week, Oettinger Getränke, the German beer and soft-drinks group, said it was investigating a cyberattack on the business.

In a brief statement, the privately owned company confirmed the breach and said it was looking into the “potential” for data leaks.

According to specialist publication Cybernews, ransomware group Ransom House claimed it held data from the brewer.

"Arla factory in Germany hit by cyber incident" was originally created and published by Just Food, a GlobalData owned brand.

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