17th October 2014
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
Dairygold chief executive Jim Woulfe has been chosen Cork Person of
the Month in recognition of the €117m investment in Dairygold’s Mallow
and Mitchelstown sites. The very significant investment gives the
Society the additional processing capacity it needs to cater for the
expected increase in its members’ milk production following next
year’s abolition of EU milk quotas and secondly the capability to
produce higher value dairy ingredients.
“Dairygold under the leadership of Jim Woulfe will now maximize the
opportunities that EU milk deregulation will present, allowing the
organisation to export more dairy produce and higher value dairy
produce to more than fifty countries worldwide. This will create
exciting opportunities for business growth, job creation and, of
course, expansion for the co-op’s existing 3000 milk suppliers” said
awards organiser Manus O’Callaghan.
Recently Taoiseach Enda Kenny laid the foundation stone for
Dairygold’s €83.5m “regeneration” of its milk processing plant in
Mallow which will create some 400 construction jobs. He also performed
the official opening of Dairygold’s newly-completed €33.5m upgrade of
its dairy plant in Mitchelstown. Overall Dairygold’s expansion plan
will create 115 new jobs.
The Irish Dairy Board is also planning to build a Centre of Excellence
for the production of Kerrygold Butter on the Dairygold milk
processing complex at Castlefarm, Mitchelstown, creating a further 50
jobs. All very significant developments for the wider dairy sector
but particularly important for the Cork region.
“As Ireland’s largest farmer-owned dairy co-op, situated in Ireland’s
dairy heartland, we have a responsibility to make these strategic
investments to create the necessary world-class dairy manufacturing
capability in the region. The investment moves Dairygold up the value
chain by allowing the Society to produce a suite of premium dairy
products up to and including infant milk formula. I accept this award
on behalf of all the people who made this possible – our Milk
Suppliers, Shareholders, Representative Committees, Board of Directors
and over 1,000 loyal hardworking staff” said Jim Woulfe at the award
presentation.
