Food group Glanbia will more than double processing capacity at its Wexford plant next year if a proposed €35m expansion receives planning permission.

Glanbia Ingredients Ireland (GII) acquired Wexford Creamery in May 2014.  Last year the Rocklands plant produced almost 20,000 tonnes of cheddar cheese, together with a stream of whey for further processing. The investment will secure the future of the plant’s 48 employees, as well as generating 60-70 jobs during construction. It will also help sustain a number of indirect jobs locally.

Jim Bergin, chief executive of Glanbia Ingredients Ireland, said: “This investment is a tremendous vote of confidence in the staff at our Wexford plant, which produced record volumes of cheese in 2015. Our milk suppliers in Wexford are among the fastest growing in the Glanbia catchment area."

Wexford Cheese

“This investment will enable further growth by our Wexford Cheese brand, which is marketed in Ireland, the UK, the USA and, most recently, the Middle East.”

In Association with

GII is owned by Glanbia Co-Op, the biggest and most wealthy cooperative society in the country with over 15,000 members and a value of almost €2 billion, and Glanbia plc, the global nutrition company.

As well as increasing cheese processing capacity, the Wexford investment will deliver an additional whey stream for the sports nutrition sector, one of Glanbia’s key market sectors. If planning approval is secured, plant works would commence in the fourth quarter this year and be completed in spring 2017.