FDBusiness.com

Glanbia Cheese, the joint venture business between Glanbia plc and Leprino Foods, plans to build a new, world-class mozzarella cheese manufacturing facility in Portlaoise, County Laois, Ireland. A site for the new facility has been identified at the recently established Togher National Industrial Estate in Portlaoise. A total of €130 million will be invested in this world-class facility, which is supported by the Government of Ireland through Enterprise Ireland.

The new facility will have a production capacity of 45,000 tons per annum. Approximately 78 full time jobs will be created at the facility. It is expected that a further 250 jobs will be created during the construction phase.

The project will now move to its planning phase. If planning permission is successfully achieved, construction will commence later this year and the new facility would be expected to begin production in 2020.

Glanbia and Leprino Foods already have a successful existing joint venture partnership in Glanbia Cheese, which was established in 2000 and has large scale manufacturing operations in Llangefni in Wales and in Magheralin, Northern Ireland. Glanbia Cheese is the leading mozzarella manufacturer in Europe.

Glanbia plc has deep roots in the Irish dairy industry and has become the world’s leading producer and marketer of quality performance nutrition products supporting active lifestyles. Its success as a global ingredients provider has been built on Glanbia’s expertise in nutritional solutions supported by significant investment in research and development.

Leprino Foods Company, headquartered in Denver, Colorado, is a global leader in the production of premium-quality cheese and dairy ingredients. Leprino Foods is the largest producer of mozzarella cheese in the world and a leading manufacturer of lactose, whey protein and sweet whey.

The new investment will build upon this successful partnership while the new scalable facility will provide bespoke cheese solutions for customers across Europe.

Siobhán Talbot, Group Managing Director of Glanbia, comments: “We are pleased to announce plans to build this new facility for Glanbia Cheese. Our partnership with Leprino Foods has been very successful for both partners to date and we are very positive about the potential of this new venture.  We have worked closely with Enterprise Ireland on this project and are very appreciative of their support and commitment. We now look forward to moving the project on to its next phase.”

Mike Durkin, President of Leprino Foods, says: “This new plant in Portlaoise is an exciting project that will not only expand our thriving partnership with Glanbia, but will take advantage of our combined experience, knowledge and strengths to build a state-of-the-art facility to meet consumer demand for mozzarella cheese. It also reflects a desire to increase our presence and benefit from having a facility that is in close proximity to the growing European markets.”

Julie Sinnamon, CEO Enterprise Ireland, concluded: “The announcement is one of the largest new name Food FDI projects secured for Ireland by Enterprise Ireland in recent times. Enterprise Ireland is responsible for attracting Foreign Direct Investment from the global food industry into Ireland and we are delighted to support this significant investment project which was won for Ireland and Laois against strong competition from many other locations. The result of this investment is 78 jobs supported by Enterprise Ireland and a further 250 during the construction phase, which will deliver a positive impact to the region, supporting sustainable economic growth, regional development and secure employment. We are committed to working with Glanbia and Leprino Foods to support this partnership.”

Glanbia Cheese’s Portlaoise facility will source the majority of its key raw materials from Glanbia Ireland. The facility will supply products to customers in the food service sector of the pizza category across Europe.

CAPTION:

Pictured (L-R): Martin Keane, Glanbia Group Chairman; Siobhan Talbot, Group MD of Glanbia; Minister for Justice and Equality Charlie Flanagan TD; Julie Sinnamon, CEO of Enterprise Ireland; and Paul Vernon, CEO of Glanbia Cheese.