Ornua’s new €38m state-of-the-art Kerrygold butter production and packing facility has been opened today in Mitchelstown, Co. Cork.
The production facility known as ‘Kerrygold Park’ will have a capacity of up to 50,000t of butter per annum and will initially employ 65 people.
The new centre will be officially opened by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed TD, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mary Mitchell O’Connor TD and Ornua Chairman, Aaron Forde.
Ornua is Ireland’s largest exporter of Irish dairy products, exporting to over 110 countries worldwide. A key part of Ornua’s growth strategy is to significantly increase sales of the Kerrygold brand.
Today, Kerrygold sales retail at c€750m, with targets to grow to €1 billion. Kerrygold Park will ensure a world-class supply chain to support both this growth target and the further development of the brand.
Kerrygold Park will have the capability to produce new butter products and formats not currently available in Ireland. It will also house the ‘Green to Gold’ Customer Innovation Centre, which will be a key destination for international customer visits to Ireland.
Kevin Lane, Ornua CEO said the opening of Kerrygold Park marks a special day for Ireland’s dairy industry.
“The quality of Irish milk is exceptional. From the fields to the processors, the success of Kerrygold is based on the outstanding quality of the milk and cream that goes into it. Now, we have a world-class production and packing facility to complete the value chain.
“Kerrygold Park is core to our ambitious plans to develop the Kerrygold brand from a butter brand to a dairy brand.
“Not only will the new facility significantly enhance our production, it also greatly improves our innovation capability and our ability to deliver premium dairy products to consumers around the world. This is the most effective way of securing value for Irish dairy farmers,” he said.
The opening will be attended by international customers and representatives from the dairy and business communities.
The establishment of Kerrygold Park is the latest step in Ornua’s business growth programme. The goal of this programme is to build and develop valuable routes to market for Irish dairy products.
Ornua purchased 286,000mt of dairy products from Ireland’s dairy processors in 2015, up 16% on the previous year, this figure is expected to grow by c30% in 2016.
New factory builds and factory expansions have been completed in Africa, China, Germany, Spain, the US and the UK.