Glanbia's Dairy Ingredients Ireland (DII) has unveiled a new whey protein isolate facility at its milk processing base in Ballyragget, County Kilkenny, with an investment of EUR21m.
The facility features a micro-filtering system to manufacture whey protein isolate, which can be used in sports supplements, and infant and clinical nutrition. The whey protein isolate is the purest form of whey protein available, comprising about 85% to 95% pure protein, the company said.
In August 2012, Irish dairy firm Glanbia signed a €44.5m deal to sell a 60% stake in its dairy ingredient division - Dairy Ingredients Ireland (DII) - to its largest shareholder Glanbia Co-op Society. The parties plan to form a new joint venture called Glanbia Ingredients Ireland (GII), under which Glanbia will hold 40% in DII, while Glanbia Co-op Society will hold 60%.
DII employs 320 people at Ballyragget facility. About 70 job opportunities would be created if a new joint venture is approved by Glanbia Co-operative Society and Glanbia on 13 November 2012.
DII is the largest dairy ingredients processor in Ireland, collecting nearly 1.6 billion litres of milk and processing it into c.180,000t of dairy ingredients, primarily for export to about 50 countries worldwide.