Carbery Group Investing €78 Million in New Cheese Plant
Carbery Group, the West Cork-based international nutritional ingredients, flavours and natural cheese producer, has started construction work on a new manufacturing facility at its site in Ballineen. In the planning for some time, the new plant represents a €78 million investment by Carbery Group.
The investment will allow the organisation to diversify from its exclusive production of cheddar cheese into an expanded range of new cheese offerings. This is in response to increased market growth and consumer demand for mozzarella and other cheese varieties in emerging markets.
The new production facility also signifies increased milk production capacity at the site, which will have the capacity to process 4 million litres of milk each day. As a result, the operation will be one of the largest diversified cheese manufacturing sites in Europe.
With construction planned for completion in early 2020, the investment will future-proof Carbery’s capability to process all of the milk produced by its shareholders and farmer partners out to 2030 and beyond. The group will be increasing its borrowings to fund the investment and thus will not seek to raise additional capital through its shareholder base.
Jason Hawkins, Chief Executive Officer, Carbery Group, commented: “Product and market diversification has always been a core part of our business and ongoing strategy, with this project in the planning for almost two years. As a global organisation, we are constantly looking to international consumption trends to further grow our offering and our business. Cheese such as mozzarella provide us with a more diversified product range and an opportunity to build a stronger foothold in new and emerging cheese markets such as Asia and the Middle East, while also providing us with a new product range and market opportunities, in sectors such as foodservice.”
Carbery Group’s plans for cheese diversification will enable the business to harness the significant increase in consumer cheese consumption in Asian markets, as consumers seek high quality, sustainably produced products.
Carbery Group’s Nutrition business is a strategic global supplier of advanced whey proteins which includes the market-leading Optipep® whey hydrolysate range, Isolac® whey protein isolates and Carbelac® whey protein concentrates. The Taste division, Synergy Flavours, with manufacturing operations in Europe, North America, South America and Asia, is a leading supplier of flavours, natural extracts and essences.
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Pictured (left to right): John Holland, chief operating officer; Jason Hawkins, chief executive, and Peter Fleming, chairman, Carbery Group.
