Glenisk is set to have selected products from its yogurt range back on the shelves this month following a devastating fire at its premises.
Last September, a blaze ripped through the organic processor’s facility in Killeigh, Co. Offaly, leaving a “burned-out shell”.
Since then, the company has been working on a rebuilding programme and demolition of the fire-damaged site is underway.
Glenisk built a ‘Plan B’ manufacturing facility on the site within three months and the company said that the final touches are being put to it this week.
“Our production, maintenance and engineering teams have worked miracles to get us to this point,” the company’s commercial director, Emma Walls told Agriland.
Glenisk
Next week, Glenisk plans to begin yogurt trials and if quality standards are met the company is hoping to have selected lines back on supermarket shelves the following week.
“While we’d wanted to be on shelf by January 1, we could not take shortcuts. It’s important that our customers, who have waited patiently for our return, get the product they remember. It has to be right,” Walls stated.
The company is anticipating a nationwide return to distribution during January with the initial focus on its large pots of natural organic yogurt, followed by big pots of fruit yogurt in February and multipacks after that.
Glenisk said all of the products are being manufactured with milk from Irish organic farms.
“Some of the yogurt filling equipment sourced to get us back into production has come from Italy, but not the ingredients,” Walls stated.
The company said in the coming weeks it will turn its attention to construction at the ‘Plan A’ manufacturing site; this includes a new carbon-neutral facility with larger capacity .
“We expect that this will take at least a year. In the meantime, we are open to new suppliers and encourage any farmers considering transition to organic dairy to get in touch with us,” Walls concluded.