The official opening of Dairygold’s new €86 million Nutritional Campus in Mallow took place last Friday, September 22.

Taking over three years to complete, the demolition phase of this project stretched as far back as May 2014. The impressive Dairygold facility now dominates the skyline as you enter the town of Mallow.

Built in order to cope with expanding milk production levels, Dairygold’s new facility boasts some impressive processing statistics – and there is also further room for expansion.

Construction

Based in Mallow, Co. Cork, the new Nutritional Campus is located approximately 35km north of Cork city and 65km south of Limerick city.

Built on a site of about 22ac, this project created over 800 construction jobs – both direct and indirect. There was close to 400 construction workers on site at peak, according to Dairygold.

Some 47 contractors were employed during this project, 35 of which were from Co. Cork. The completion of this €86 million investment reportedly took 800,000 man hours, as well as 20,000m³ ready-mix concrete.

A total of 6ac of concrete yard slabs, 10km of electrical ducting, 14km of process piping and 200 doors were all included in the construction of this facility.

Approximately 2,600t of reinforcement steel and 450t of pipe rack steelwork were also included in the project.

Following a four-month-long demolition phase, the construction phase began in earnest in September 2014. After milk handling equipment was commissioned, the first milk went through the site on March 1, 2015.

The construction phase finished in July 2015, but it took up until March 2016 for the first powder to be produced by the new dryer.

Facilities

There is a total of 96 staff employed on-site and the facility is operational 24 hours a day, Dairygold added.

The new Nutritional Campus is capable of processing 600 million litres of milk over 48 weeks, while its two dryers have a capacity for 12.5 million litres per week.

About 90% of the electricity used throughout the site is generated through a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant located within the grounds.

Milk is collected from Dairygold’s 2,900 suppliers and it is quality checked at the entrance to the campus. It is then off-loaded in the new milk intake area.

Dairygold

The five milk in-take points at Dairygold’s Nutritional Campus in Mallow

Once offloaded, the milk is then cooled and pasteurised. The milk is subsequently tested for fat and protein, Dairygold explained. The fat and protein are then adjusted – according to the customer product specification – before being modified.

With regards to raw milk storage, there is a total of five milk intake bays with a capacity to take in 350,000L/hr. This reportedly equates to 70 trucks per day at peak or 1.8 million litres per day.

Dairygold

Dairygold opted to install four 300,000L milk silos, with space for two more. This is alongside two 110,000L cream silos and four 120,000L ingredient silos.

In relation to pasteurised milk storage, seven standardised milk storage silos with 300,000L capacities were erected. There is also adequate space for three more silos to be constructed.

The new campus also includes two pasteurisation and separation lines of 65,000L/hr, as well as one pasteurisation line capable of 70,000L/hr.

Dairygold also underlined the capacity for expansion in this regard. A dedicated roadway into the site was also constructed in order to reduce the danger of traffic congestion in the city.

The official opening of the campus was attended by Dairygold officials, suppliers and stakeholders. These were also joined by An Tanaiste and the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Frances Fitzgerald; the European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Phil Hogan; and the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed.