FDBusiness.com

Kerry Dairy Ireland, a division of Kerry Group, has announced the official opening of its new Cheestrings facility in Charleville, County Cork. The expanded plant represents a significant investment in the business, supported by Enterprise Ireland and the Government’s Capital Investment Scheme for the Processing and Marketing of Agriculture Products. The investment enhances production capacity by 50%, creating an additional 60 jobs locally and is a reflection of Kerry Dairy Ireland’s ambitious growth plans for the Cheestrings brand.

Since its creation nearly 30 years ago, the Cheestrings brand has achieved major success, in becoming a feature of lunchboxes across the UK and Ireland; it is estimated that 17 Cheestrings are consumed every second. The cutting-edge facility in Charleville will not only bring additional capacity, but will also support new processing capabilities and efficiencies.

Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Peter Burke TD said: “This strategic investment into this world class facility was part financed by the Government’s Capital Investment Scheme for the Agri Food processing sector. It is also supported under the EU Brexit Adjustment Reserve. This support ensures Kerry Dairy Ireland has the world-leading processing capabilities needed to continue to grow the brand globally while directly supporting the local economy here in Charleville through the creation of jobs. I’d like to extend my congratulations to Kerry Group and the entire team at Kerry Dairy Ireland and wish them continued future success.”

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue TD said: “The Government established the capital investment scheme in recognition of the challenges faced by the sector and particularly its unique exposure to the impact of Brexit. The scheme represents this Government’s strong commitment to supporting investments like this Cheestrings manufacturing operation that will help underpin the Agri food sector’s sustainable development in the future.  Investment in new market development helps to bring benefits to all those along the supply chain particularly farmers, our primary producers, who are key contributors to our €16 billion export sector of which our dairy exports account for over €6 billion. I welcome that this investment by Kerry in Cheestrings is aligned with the environmental sustainability requirements of the scheme reflecting the importance of showing that our dairy sector is committed to developing in an environmentally sustainable way. I congratulate Kerry on this project.”

Edmond Scanlon, CEO of Kerry Group, commented: “Cheestrings has been a fantastic success story over the past thirty years, and a great example of an innovative healthy snack product for everyday consumption. This new facility underpins the growth plans for Cheestrings, and demonstrates our business’s commitment to the locality.”

Leo Clancy, CEO, Enterprise Ireland, said: “Enterprise Ireland is committed to supporting companies like Kerry Dairy Ireland to increase their level of innovation, improve their competitiveness and expand their global footprint, with the ultimate goal of delivering export growth for Ireland. The opening of the new Cheestrings facility reflects highly on the entire sector – as an example of innovation combined with best-in-class facilities. Enterprise Ireland has supported this development under the 2021 Capital Investment Scheme which aims to build the resilience of the Irish dairy and meat sectors by focusing on increasing the value added and directing new products into global markets. This state-of-the-art facility is a beacon of inspiration to other Irish food companies looking to innovate and we wish Pat and the team every success in growing the Cheestrings brand both here in Ireland and overseas.”

CAPTION:

Pictured (l-r): Catherine Keogh, Chief Corporate Affairs officer, Kerry Group; Minister Peter Burke TD; Tom Moran, Chairman, Kerry Group; Pat Murphy, CEO, Kerry Dairy Ireland; Minister Charlie McConalogue TD; and Leo Clancy, CEO, Enterprise Ireland.