Ballymaguire Foods to create 100 jobs in Lusk

Chilled ready meals producer Ballymaguire Foods is to create 100 new jobs in the construction of a new food plant in Lusk, Co. Dublin.

The 70,000 sq ft food plant will treble production for the UK market and the large catering sector, and allow the company, which was founded in 2008, to target new opportunities in the UK.

Ballymaguire Foods currently employs 150 people in Lusk and is one of the largest producers of chilled ready meals to retailers in Ireland.

The company said on Monday that the new jobs will be worth just over € 4m per year to the local economy and will include graduate positions in sales and marketing, food scientists and technicians, R+D, new product development, chefs and general operatives, with a further 100 jobs being generated in the construction of the new food plant which will take nine months to complete.

Ballymaguire Foods managing director Ed Spelman said that the investments will see the company's production capability grow to over 500,000 meals per week.

“This will mainly be used to fuel the opportunities we see in the UK and add to our existing business there. We managed to buck the trend during the recession, as we used it to find new opportunities and successfully grow. We are now backing ourselves with this new investment which will help us continue to improve and innovate new food products,” he said.

Ballymaguire Foods, a Country Crest Company,was founded in 2008 by Gabriel and Michael Hoey.