Glanbia Cheese Ltd has contributed a major boost to the Laois jobs front with the announcement that it plans to investment €130 million in a state of the art mozzarella cheese manufacturing facility in Portlaoise. Glanbia Cheese Ltd was established in 2000 as a joint venture between Glanbia and US cheese giant Leprino foods. Leprino foods are the largest producer of mozzarella cheese in the world and the largest cheese producer in the US. Their partnership with Glanbia has been extremely profitable for both partners and has made Glanbia Cheese the largest producer of Mozzarella cheese in Europe with manufacturing plants in Wales and Northern Ireland.
A site for the new facility has been identified at the recently established Togher National Industrial Estate in Portlaoise and will have a production capacity of 45,000 tons of cheese per year. Glanbia have stated that if planning permission is granted it is likely construction will commence later this year with the facility likely to begin production in 2020.
The announcement of this latest project is the largest foreign direct investment in the Irish food sector in recent times and was secured by Enterprise Ireland. The project will produce 250 jobs during the construction phase, with 78 jobs being created by Glanbia within the new plant. The facility offers a welcome job boost to the region and Laois in particular providing sustainable economic growth and secure employment for the future.
Mike Durkin, President of Leprino Foods, welcomed the development saying, “This new plant in Portlaoise is an exciting project that will not only expand our thriving partnership with Glanbia but will take advantage of our combined experience, knowledge and strengths to build a state-of-the-art facility to meet consumer demand for mozzarella cheese. It also reflects a desire to increase our presence and benefit from having a facility that is in close proximity to the growing European markets.”
Echoing Mr. Durkin’s statement Siobhán Talbot, group managing director of Glanbia had this to say, “Our partnership with Leprino Foods has been very successful for both partners to date, and we are very positive about the potential of this new venture.”
The new Portlaoise facility will source the majority of its raw materials from Glanbia Ireland and will play a pivotal role in supplying pizza-producing customers in the foodservice sector across Europe.
Glanbia’s announcement marks the second major jobs boost to Laois this month to learn more about the 30 jobs being created by Cyber Security Firm skOUt click here.
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