Turnover at Larry Goodman's ABP Food Group has topped €2.2 billion making it the second largest Irish company in the Irish agribusiness sector, according to Top1000.ie, the Irish Times online guide to Irish business. Quoted fruit and vegetable group Total Produce is the largest company in the sector.
ABP employs 7,500 people, according to figures supplied by the company to the Top1000. It follows the acquisition of RWM Food Group in October last for an undisclosed sum which increased its beef processing capacity to one million head of cattle per year.
The acquisition was made by ABP UK, one of three units in its beef division. The other units are ABP Ireland and ABP Poland. ABP has four other divisions: convenience foods, pet foods, renewables and proteins. Turnover is not broken down between the divisions. Pet foods comprises CD Foods, the business of the family of former taoiseach Albert Reynolds, which ABP invested in four years ago. Mr Goodman, along with other investors, bought ABP (then called Irish Food Processors) back from a consortium of banks in 1995 that took control after it collapsed controversially in 1990.
