First sod to be turned on multi-million euro cheese factory at Belview today
A €140 million cheese factory at Belview will be officially opened today, creating 85 full time jobs when completed and providing for 400 jobs in the construction phase.
Representatives from Glanbia Co-op, international dairy producer Royal A-ware and the Irish Government today took part in the turning of the sod at the site of a new continental cheese facility being built at Belview in Co Kilkenny.
The new facility will be one of the most efficient and sustainable continental cheese production facilities in Europe. It is planned that the first continental cheese will be produced for global markets at the facility in 2024.
The facility, which is being built by Kilkenny Cheese Ltd, a joint venture between family-owned Dutch dairy producer Royal A-Ware and Glanbia Co-op, will have a footprint of 18,000 square metres. It will produce over 50,000 tonnes of continental cheese per year, including Edam, Gouda and Emmental cheese varieties which will be brought to market by Royal A-ware through their established channels.
The production facility will utilise approximately 450 million litres of milk from Glanbia milk suppliers each year. Glanbia Co-op currently sends some milk for processing by third parties during the peak milk supply months; the new facility will allow this milk to be brought in-house for processing in one of the most sustainable cheese plants in Europe. This will consolidate milk processing and reduce transport movements.
Previous studies show Glanbia Co-op’s activities have a positive impact on Ireland’s rural economy and the new facility at Belview will support the incomes of over 4,500 farm families. Over 400 jobs will be created during construction. Once opened, the Kilkenny Cheese Limited facility at Belview will offer high-skill opportunities with 80 jobs.
Glanbia Co-op CEO Jim Bergin, said:
“We are delighted to partner with Royal A-ware, a leading global producer of continental cheese, to build this world-class facility in the south-east of Ireland. The joint venture approach brings expertise in continental cheese production and a new route to market for our farmers. Today marks a significant step on the road to diversifying our product offering post-Brexit. Our Co-op will also benefit from the additional whey and cream streams produced by this new cheese facility. This facility is essential in the context of a sustainable future for our Co-op and our sector as set out in our Living Proof sustainability strategy.”
Royal A-ware CEO Jan Anker said:
“When we first announced our partnership with Glanbia Co-op in 2019, we said we were taking another step towards achieving our goals of working with strategic partners to build innovative and sustainable agri-food chains and offering our customers an enhanced product portfolio. Today’s milestone will see our company bring high-quality continental cheese produced through a local supply chain into the marketplace. We look forward to this great new facility opening in 2024.”
Kilkenny Cheese Ltd will invest in highly advanced carbon-efficient processing technology and its enhanced sustainability design ensures it will be a best-in-class facility.
As part of its strong focus on sustainability, it will utilise reusable packing crates saving a substantial amount of cardboard and incorporate new vacuum packing machines delivering yearly savings of over 80,000 kg of plastic (80 tonnes).
The new facility delivers new continental cheese products for new markets, providing diversification opportunities from the UK cheddar market and supporting the incomes of over 4,500 family farms.
The Kilkenny Cheese joint venture was announced in January 2019 and was scheduled for commissioning in 2022. It is now on track to commence cheese production early in 2024.
