Dairygold gets green light for €120m facility upgrade

Dairygold has been granted planning permission to spend €120m on a “world-class dairy processing facility” in Cork.

The redeveloping of its existing location in Mallow, Co Cork, will not only lead to the creation of 100 direct and indirect jobs but will also see output return to 450 tonnes of milk powders per day, the same level as at its peak in the 1990s.

The co-op is expanding operations ahead of the ending of milk quota restrictions in 2015.

Dairygold has surveyed its 3,000 suppliers in Munster and has forecast that, as a result of the quota ending, there will be a 63.5% increase in milk production from 941m litres per year in 2011 to 1.54bn litres by 2020.

As part of the expansion, two new 7.5 tonne-per-hour driers will be installed in Mallow, the first in 2015 and the second in 2019.

Milk powders to be produced in Mallow will include whole milk powder, fat filled milk powder and infant milk formula base, for which the co-op has customers and markets in several destinations worldwide.

Dairygold hopes to begin the re-development of the Mallow site in 2013 and to have it completed before the quotas end in 2015.

Milk production will then increase incrementally in the years to 2020.

As well as the 100 direct and indirect jobs, which will be created when the development is complete, it is also expected to create a large number of construction jobs while it is being built.

The company currently employs 135 staff in its Mallow facility in the laboratories, its superstore, and its offices.

Planning permission was granted by Cork County Council with 66 conditions which, sources say, cover all aspects of the development and will ensure it does not impinge on the local community.

Dairygold has already completed an expansion of its powder facility in Mitchelstown and at its speciality cheese plant at Mogeely. It also has planning approval for expansion of its cheddar and whey plants in Mitchelstown.

Those investments, along with Mallow, will expand weekly milk processing from its current 29m litres to over 50m litres per week by 2020.

Local TD Sean Sherlock, the research and innovation minister, said: “Dairygold’s expansion in Mallow signals its intent to become a leading competitor in the milk market post 2015. The granting of planning permission is a key step in that process. I welcome this development. The construction and post-construction jobs created will provide a massive boost to Mallow and surrounding areas.”

Dairygold currently employs 1,150 people, is owned by almost 9,000 farmer shareholders, including 3,000 milk suppliers, and generates an annual turnover of €750m.