Irish dairy products firm Ornua has opened a new butter production and packing facility for its Kerrygold brand in Mitchelstown located in Cork County, Ireland.
Ornua has put in an investment of €38m in the new facility which has been named as the Kerrygold Park. The plant will have a production capacity of up to 50,000 tonnes of butter per annum.
Opening of the facility is in line with Ornua’s strategy to increase the sales of its Kerrygold brand significantly. The brand had recorded sales of €750m and is targeted to grow to €1bn.
Ornua CEO Kevin Lane said: “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.”
Kerrygold Park, which will be employing 65 people initially, is said to have the capability of producing butter products and formats which are currently not available in Ireland.
Also housing the ‘Green to Gold’ customer innovation center, the Kerrygold Park is expected to become an important destination for Ornua’s international customer trips to Ireland.
Ornua exports Irish dairy products to more than 110 countries and in the US, it claims to be the most imported butter brand.
Ornua has also made investments in Saudi Arabia and China this year. In Saudi Arabia, it had opened a €20m cheese manufacturing facility which was preceded by the acquisition of dairy manufacturer Ambrosia Dairy in China.