Welsh firm opening €3.3m facility in Co Meath

A UK dairy nutrition company has invested €3.3 million in a new facility near Kells, Co Meath, at which 16 manufacturing jobs will be created.

Supported by export agency Enterprise Ireland, Volac has built a finishing and packing facility which will ultimately be used for its whey protein bases.

The company plans to source Irish raw materials to supplement those bases that are supplied from Volac's factory in Wales.

The company is a privately owned business based near Cambridge in the UK. It has seven production facilities - five in the UK, one in the Netherlands and one in Malaysia.

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Volac’s products serve the sports nutrition, agriculture, and animal nutrition markets.

David Neville, the managing director of Volac Animal Nutrition, said: "In 2008, Volac purchased the Golden Maverick brand portfolio, Ireland's leading range of animal milk replacers.

Growth

“Since then the Irish milk replacer market has seen fantastic growth which we expect to continue in line with the ambitions of the Irish dairy industry. The investment which we announce today reflects Volac’s confidence in the growing demand for milk replacer in both Irish and export markets.”

Enterprise Ireland's food division manager, Orla Battersby, noted food foreign direct investment in Ireland employs 10,000 people and is responsible for 35 per cent of all Irish food exports.

“Volac is a growing, ambitious company and Ireland has many advantages including a critical mass of companies for Volac to collaborate with in the provision of ingredients and Irish raw materials.

"This is great news for Mullagh, Kells and we look forward to continuing to work with Volac as it grows and expands its operations while creating jobs here in Ireland," Ms Battersby concluded.