Agri-business Kerry Group‘s new hub at Millennium Park in Naas has already employed 300 people, a recent North Kildare Chamber of Commerce annual conference has heard.

Work continues on Kerry Group’s multimillion-euro technology and innovation centre into food and food ingredients and already a group of Japanese of business people visited the Kerry offices in Naas.

Naas was chosen for as the location for the €100m Global Technology and Innovation Centre because of good transports links, growth potential, infrastructure, customer convenience and proximity to Dublin.

Speaking at the chamber briefing, senior executive of Kerry Group, Oliver Kelly, said research is key to the company, which employs 24,000 people across the world, so much so that Kerry Group spent €180m on research in 2012.

By 2016, Kerry Group plans to have 900 people working in administration, information systems, research and development and communications housed in four buildings.