Agrifood businesses Country Crest and Ballymaguire Foods have announced a €25 million expansion of their food production facilities in Lusk, Co Dublin, that will create more than 200 jobs over the next five years.
Recruitment will start straight away and the new roles will consist of management positions, R&D, quality control, technicians, engineering, cooks and general operatives.
Construction of the first phase of the expansion is underway and is expected to be completed and in operation by the summer of next year.
Michael Hoey, managing director of Country Crest, said: “This is a vote of confidence in the Irish food industry, an industry that continues to thrive despite the tough economic conditions we are all experiencing at present”.
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Ed Spelman, managing director and co-owner of Ballymaguire Foods, said: “We are delighted to be making this investment in our business as we continue to grow and expand our reach from our Lusk base.
“Our production capability will be greatly increased and will be mainly used to fuel the opportunities we see in both this country and mainland Europe.
“Our customers appreciate our agility and ability to adapt to new trends and tastes whilst using the best Irish ingredients where possible.
“Our Irish suppliers will also benefit in the future as many of our ingredients are sourced on the island of Ireland from chicken to beef and fresh vegetables.”
Founded in 2008, Ballymaguire Foods, a sister company to Country Crest, is one of the largest fresh prepared meals producer in the island of Ireland.
The company said the investment in the food production capabilities will underpin its future capacity needs and support its customer growth plans over the next five years.
The group sources over 60 per cent of its ingredients in Ireland, including all vegetables, which come from North Dublin, as well as all proteins which are primarily made up of Irish chicken, beef and hams.
The companies generate almost 40 per cent of their energy needs onsite through their own wind turbine.
Ballymaguire Foods is a fully Irish owned company, producing approximately 130 different product offerings from 400 different ingredients for the own-brand, Irish retail and foodservice industry.
