Danone Nutricia Early Life Nutrition has opened its extended infant formula production line in Wexford. The expansion forms part of the company's €180m investment programme in its Irish operations in Macroom and Wexford.

Around €26m was invested in the Wexford facility, which will create 50 new jobs in the region.

Opening the Wexford facility, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton T.D. said: “Three years ago my Department put in place the South East Plan to deal with the historic unemployment problems in this region – today’s announcement is the latest in a string of announcements, from Irish companies in particular, that have contributed to jobs growth of over 14,000 in the region in the past three years. These high quality manufacturing jobs will have a major knock-on impact on the local economy in particular in the dairy industry”.

Donal Courtney, Managing Director, Danone Nutricia Early Life Nutrition Ireland said: “We have a significant track record of growth and investment in Ireland over the past four years. This reflects both a growing demand for our products in the European and Asian markets as well as the high regard in which the Irish operations are held amongst the Danone Groupe. Locating our state of the art new generation packaging line in Wexford reinforces the strategic nature of the Irish based operations. This investment would not have been possible without the support of Minister Bruton and his colleagues at Enterprise Ireland – we are very grateful for their continued support.”

Welcoming the announcement Michael Cantwell, Enterprise Ireland Manager Food Division, said: “Food is Ireland’s largest indigenous sector and critically important to our economic wellbeing. Today’s official opening of Danone’s state-of-the-art new generation production and packaging line is exciting and very timely - not just for Danone’s Irish operations, but also for the Irish dairy industry. Danone’s investment in its Irish operations further underpins Ireland’s world-wide reputation in food innovation and highlights our standing as a world leader in the food industry. Enterprise Ireland is delighted to support this significant strategic investment and looks forward to working with Danone as they continue to grow and develop their international sales – sustaining and creating jobs in Ireland”.

During the construction phase of the project, overseen by local Site Leader Liam Carmody, a total of 120 jobs were created. The 50 new roles are in areas such as quality, food science, operations, engineering as well as supply chain and logistics. Recruitment is currently underway and more information can be found at recruit.wexford@danone.com