New €20 million milk powder plant officially opened
New €20 million milk powder plant officially opened
at Lakeland Dairies, Bailieboro, Co. Cavan.
State's most technologically advanced dairy plant begins production
Minister opens largest non-whey milk drying plant in Europe and Ireland
Monday 4 October, 2010 - The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Brendan Smith, T.D. has today opened a new €20 million technologically advanced milk powder plant at Lakeland Dairies, Bailieboro, Co. Cavan. With this development, Lakeland Dairies has consolidated its entire milk powder manufacturing operations into the largest non-whey milk drying plant in Europe and Ireland.
With an annual production capacity of 70,000 tonnes of milk powders and 25,000 of butter also being produced on the same site, Lakeland Dairies will benefit from reduced processing costs, new economies of scale and considerable cost savings, improving its long-term competitiveness in global dairy markets.
Much of the equipment installed is new to Europe and Ireland in particular and the state of the art. The Evaporator is the first of its size and type in Ireland and the dryer has the largest output for a single unit in the country. The packing system also is new to Europe and a new robotic palletiser is handling the output from the new and existing packing lines which can be in excess of 20 tonnes/hr.
Lakeland is Ireland's second largest dairy processing co-operative operating across fifteen counties on a cross-border basis. The co-op collects 800 million litres of milk from its dairy farmers each year for processing into a wide range of dairy food ingredients and dairy foodservice products which it exports to 70 countries worldwide.
The new development has been 40% part financed by the Government's dairy grants scheme administered by Enterprise Ireland under the National Development Plan.
The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries & Food, Brendan Smith said:
"As international dairy markets improve, Ireland as an exporting and globalised economy has a chance to seize this opportunity and to capitalise on it. With these innovative and advanced new processing technologies, Lakeland Dairies will be able to compete very effectively in its key export markets and will also access new markets. It is also important that this development has contributed to dairy industry consolidation and overall enhanced competitiveness and I am pleased to note that this initiative has been supported very effectively by the dairy grants scheme."
Michael Hanley, Chief Executive of Lakeland Dairies said:
"The dairy industry is one of Ireland's most important industries. It is a vital part of the agri-food sector, it accounts for over a quarter of all agricultural output and it contributes strongly to our regional and national economy. Over 85% of all dairy output is exported. The value of these dairy exports is over two billion euro a year and our most important trading partners are still the UK and Europe.
"The opening of our new milk drying plant forms a key element of the strategic restructuring plan which we started four years ago and which has resulted in a significant realignment of all our operations to achieve greater efficiency.
"This plant will allow us to benefit from reduced processing costs and the highest quality products, improving our long-term competitiveness and strengthening our worldwide market presence. Together with these new economies of scale, we will continue to strip out all unnecessary costs from of our business to ensure that we yield the maximum value from the markets for every litre of milk sent to us for processing. This development also further secures the future of the northern regional dairy industry."
Lakeland Dairies Chairman Padraig Young said:
"Lakeland Dairies new drying plant is efficient, it is modern, it is helping to take costs out of our organisation and most importantly it is supplying a world class product.
This investment is important to the successful future of Lakeland Dairies and the dairy industry in the northern half of Ireland. Just as importantly, it is a vote of confidence in the future success of the entire Irish dairy industry."
"We intend to ensure that as many Lakeland dairy farmers as possible will stay in business, supporting their families and supporting the economy of this region. These efficiencies are designed to permanently benefit our dairy farmers in the north-east. From today's event let the message go out far and wide, at home and abroad, that Lakeland Dairies will support its milk producers and its valued customers efficiently, competitively and long into the future."