A €50 MILLION investment at a manufacturing facility in Macroom, Co Cork, has been announced by the Government and Danone Baby Nutrition, creating 40 additional jobs at the site.
This investment, which is being supported by the Government through Enterprise Ireland, will fund an expansion and redevelopment of the existing facility and create new jobs in the areas of food science, engineering and supply chain management.
The construction element of the project is due to get under way in February with commercial operations due to begin by the end of 2012. On completion, the factory will be the largest and most technologically advanced manufacturing centre in Danone Baby Nutrition’s global network.
The expansion will result in a trebling of capacity to 100,000 tonnes annually, as a result of the creation of a new drying line at the facility. Some 98 per cent of the output from Macroom will be exported.
Danone says consistent growth of its infant and toddler formulas has resulted in the need to invest to increase capacity.
Speaking at the official announcement on Saturday, Minister for Enterprise Batt O’Keeffe said the jobs boost was very significant for north Cork and Ireland in strategic and economic terms.
“The impact of the €50 million programme will be felt across a number of fronts – 40 new direct jobs, an estimated further 200 jobs during the construction phase, an increase in exports of close to €150 million and a trebling in Irish raw material spend to €65 million over the next three years,” he said.