Lakeland Dairies to expand its operations with €36m investment

Ireland’s Lakeland Dairies is set to invest €36m in a bid to expand its milk powder processing operations at Bailieboro in Cavan County, creating 81 full-time food industry jobs, as well as 180 construction jobs.

Under this project, a new 7t per hour milk drying facility will be installed in Bailieboro with the milk powder production capacity in the facility expected to be increased up to 19t per hour.

The new investment in this co-operative firm has been supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through Enterprise Ireland.

Lakeland Dairies chairman Alo Duffy said: "When EU milk quotas are abolished this year, Lakeland Dairies’ milk producers will have the freedom to increase milk output in line with continuing and future growth in global demand for dairy products.

"Lakeland Dairies is focussed on the creation of a bright and sustainable future for our milk producers. This includes investments in modern and streamlined plants, which guarantee an expanded milk processing capacity and provide the flexibility to meet global market needs."

Lakeland Dairies processes more than 800 million litres of milk annually into a variety of dairy foodservice products and food ingredients and also exports to over 70 countries worldwide.

In addition, it currently produces 80,000t of milk powders a year and it is expected to increase up to 130,000t after completion of the project in 2016.

Lakeland Dairies is further hoping for the annual milk supply to increase by 40% to over one billion litres by 2020 following the abolition of EU quotas later this year.