Lakeland hailed for contribution to regional economy and food sector

Lakeland Dairies chief executive Michael Hanley cited the excellent quality of milk in border-adjacent counties, when picking up the two main honours at the inaugural Cavan Business and Tourism awards.

Lakeland won the award for most innovative business (food sector) and was also named as overall winner at the ceremony, at which Taoiseach Enda Kenny was special guest.

The judging panel said it was recognising Lakeland’s “major contribution” to the northern economy and the national food industry.

Accepting the award, Mr Hanley said it was a direct tribute to co-operative dairy farmers across the entire Lakeland catchment area, where farming families in 15 cross-border counties produce about 700m litres of milk annually for Lakeland.

“Lakeland will continue to support and encourage co-operative dairy farming and international growth for the Irish dairy industry.

“We will continue to be an engine for innovation, economic growth, and community development throughout the northern region of Ireland and we are most grateful to our shareholders, producers and communities for their stalwart support of this agenda.”

Lakeland Dairies is the second largest dairy processing co-operative in Ireland. It is farmer owned with a heritage of excellence in dairying spanning over 100 years.

The co-operative is an internationally recognised supplier of superb dairy ingredients and food-service products with an outstanding mix of high-quality raw materials, modern processing facilities, and a highly skilled workforce.

The co-operative markets a wide range of value-added dairy products and food ingredients worldwide.

The awards are a joint initiative of Cavan Chamber of Commerce and The Anglo-Celt newspaper.

The main sponsor of the event was Cavan County Council, with other sponsors including AIB, Cavan County Enterprise Board, and Kelly Rahill & Co.