C&D Foods to invest €48 million in Longford facility
The petfood division of ABP Food Group, C&D Foods, has announced an investment of €48 million for its flagship facility at Edgeworthstown, County Longford. The investment, which includes the creation of one hundred (100) new roles in engineering, operations, supply chain and quality assurance will increase the site’s production capacity by 25%. This is in addition to the employment of approximately one hundred, during the construction phase which is underway.
The investment, which is supported by Enterprise Ireland, will result in an extension of the building along with the creation of additional state-of-the-art automated multi-packing and pouch filling lines using the most sustainable innovations available.
C&D Foods is one of the largest own label pet food manufacturers in Europe with production facilities in eleven locations across the continent. C&D Foods employs 500 staff in Ireland and a further 1,400 across Europe.
Commenting on the announcement, Colm Dore, Manging Director, C&D Foods, said: “This is an exciting and significant step forward for our business. We are seeing a trend across Europe where consumers are favouring pouched pet food for smaller companion animals, and we are in prime position to continue to capitalise on the growing demand for these types of products.
“This investment will enable the company to maintain its position at the forefront of the pet food market while also leading to the creation of new high skilled jobs and positive economic development in our local community.”
Leo Clancy, CEO, Enterprise Ireland, said: “A key goal for Enterprise Ireland is to support companies to make the transition to the low-carbon, resource-efficient economy of the future by increasing their level of innovation and all the while improving their competitiveness. We have worked closely with C&D foods to support them with their sustainability strategy, reducing carbon by investing in carbon abatement technologies and driving productivity through investing in digitalisation technologies. This large investment into the new showcase plant in Edgeworthstown reflects highly on the entire Irish food sector – pooling together innovation with best-in-class facilities to drive sustainable practices. We look forward to working closely with C&D Foods to optimise their full international growth potential, creating and sustaining jobs here in Longford.”
In 2021 C&D announced a €60 million contract with Donegal-based packaging company ProAmpac in Gweedore. ProAmpac is now a strategic supplier of pet food pouches for C&D operations across Europe. Both parties are currently working on the development of more sustainable pet food pouch packaging including recyclable options.
The latest investment at Edgeworthstown brings the total invested by ABP at the plant to €118 million since 2006. This is in addition to significant investment by ABP in C&D sites across Europe including production facilities in the UK, France, Holland, Denmark and Austria.
CAPTION:
Declan Kennedy, General Manager, C&D Edgeworthstown; Aisling Halligan, C&D Edgeworthstown; and Colm Dore, Manging Director, C&D Foods.
