A STATE-of-the-art mushroom growing facility will open today with the creation of 150 jobs.
Monaghan Mushrooms is said to be one of the most modern plants of its kind in Europe, growing up to 6,000 tonnes of the fungi each year.
Minister for Agriculture Brendan Smith will officially open the €12 million site at Tyholland, Co Monaghan.
He said the firm was a pioneer in the development of the industry. “The mushroom industry is worth in excess of €100 million per year, and over 70 per cent of that production is exported. This business has always been a market-led industry with a straightforward objective – that is to keep fresh mushrooms on the supermarket shelves when, how and where the customer wants.”
Founded in the 1981 by local entrepreneur Ronnie Wilson, Monaghan Mushrooms has become Europe’s leading mushroom producer and a major Irish food exporter. It employs 2,297 people across Ireland, the UK and Canada, and supports a network of 27 independent growers throughout Ireland.
It holds 17 per cent market share in Ireland and 45 per cent of the market share in the UK, the largest mushroom market in Europe valued at €425 million.
Mr Wilson said the new development would have a very positive impact on Monaghan Mushrooms and the whole town by delivering even greater productivity and bringing employment.
Regarded as the most up-to-date development of its kind in Europe, it is made up of 18 individual mushroom growing houses that together provide a total growing area of 21,306 sq m.
Each unit has the latest technology used in mushroom production, including energy-efficient geothermal heating, cooling and humidification systems.