Irish agri-food co-op Ornua has opened its new, €30 million cheese production facility in Ávila, Spain.

The new facility has been built on the former Ornua cheese manufacturing site, opening two years to the day since that site was destroyed by a fire.

Ornua is already planning to expand the 35,000-tonne mozzarella and pizza cheese facility to 70,000-tonne capacity. Ornua supplies enough cheese for over 100 million pizzas each year.

The reopening of the Ávila facility also marked the creation of Ornua Ingredients Europe, which brings Ornua’s Spanish and UK Ingredients businesses together. The new division supplies of high quality cheese and dairy powder ingredients.

The rebuild of the facility, which employs more than 120 people, included a significant expansion and processing technology upgrade. Ornua intends to use the facility to diversify its product portfolio and build scale.

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The Ávila site features a R&D centre of excellence, with a pilot plant and innovation kitchen.

Speaking at the opening this week, John Jordan, CEO of Ornua, said that the new facility was in line with Ornua’s growth strategy of investing in high-quality production facilities to secure long-term returns for Irish dairy farmers.

“Our new R&D centre of excellence becomes the 10th innovation centre in our international network, which will ensure that Ornua has the capability to support our customers at the forefront of the rapidly changing dairy ingredients market,” Jordan added.

Led by newly appointed managing director Joan Bombardo, Ornua Ingredients Europe incorporates Ávila and Ornua’s UK Ingredients businesses, giving it a turnover in excess of €300m and a workforce of 600.

Ornua Ingredients Europe is headquartered at its Nantwich UK facility.