The site, in Mitchelstown, Co. Cork, will have a capacity of up to 50,000 tonnes of butter per annum and will initially employ 65 people.
Ornua is Ireland’s largest exporter of dairy products, exporting to more than 110 countries worldwide.
A key part of its growth strategy is to increase sales of the Kerrygold brand from around €750m ($842m) to €1bn ($1.1bn).
New products for Ireland
Kerrygold Park will have the capability to produce new butter products and formats not currently available in Ireland. Kerrygold Park will also house the ‘Green to Gold’ Customer Innovation Centre, for international customer visits to Ireland.
Kevin Lane, Ornua CEO, said Kerrygold Park is core to Ornua’s plans to develop Kerrygold from a butter brand to a dairy brand.
Kerrygold timeline
1961 An Bord Bainne (Irish for The Irish Dairy Board) is established
1962 The Kerrygold brand name is chosen from 60 suggestions and the brand is launched, not in Ireland, but the UK
1964 Kerrygold starts exporting to Gibraltar, Malta, Cyprus, the Middle East, Canary Islands, Caribbean and Asia
1973 Kerrygold exported to EEC member states. Today, Kerrygold is the No. 1 butter brand in Germany
1973 11 years after launching in the UK, Kerrygold goes on sale in Ireland
1980 New Kerrygold logo unveiled
1995 Kerrygold launches milk powder in South Africa
2000 Kerrygold milk powder launches in the Democratic Republic of Congo
2005 Kerrygold gets its own German street, renamed Kerrygoldstrasse
2010 Kerrygold launches the current logo
2014 Kerrygold Park receives planning approval
2014 Kerrygold launches an Irish Cream Liqueur in the US
2015 Ornua becomes the new name of The Irish Dairy Board
2015 Kerrygold opens a milk powder packing facility in Nigeria
2016 Kerrygold Park opens
“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,” Lane said.
The opening was attended by international customers and representatives from the dairy and business communities.
Business growth program
Kerrygold Park is the latest step in Ornua’s business growth program, the goal of which is to build and develop 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, and this figure is expected to grow by approximately 30% in 2016.
New factory builds and factory expansions have been completed in Africa, China, Germany, Spain, the US and the UK.
