Ballymaguire Foods to Build New Plant
Ballymaguire Foods, the largest chilled ready meals producer in the Republic of Ireland, is establishing a new state-of-the-art 70,000 sq ft food plant at its site in Lusk, north County Dublin. The development will create 100 new jobs, greatly bolstering the existing workforce of 150 people.
A further 100 jobs will be generated in the construction of the new food plant which will take nine months to complete.
The new jobs and investment will be used to expand the company’s presence in the UK which is leading the world market in the development of chilled convenience meal solutions. The initial focus is on bespoke food and meal products with inherent ‘Irishness’ coming from 100% traceable top quality ingredients. The burgeoning catering and foodservice sectors which accounts for a third of the overall food consumption in Ireland is also growing rapidly and this too will be a target for expansion by the company.
Ed Spelman, managing director of Ballymaguire Foods, comments: “This is a really exciting time for Ballymaguire Foods as we reach a landmark in our growth and development with strong plans and targets now in place to expand production over the next five years. Our production capability will now grow to over 500,000 meals per week and 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. Our Irish suppliers will also benefit in the future as all ingredients, where possible, are sourced on the island of Ireland. Ballymaguire Foods currently sources 676t of beef, 2600t of potatoes, 2080t of vegetables, 780t of dairy produce and 572t chicken per year in Ireland.”
Founded in 2008, Ballymaguire Foods is part of the Country Crest Group.
CAPTION:
Ed Spelman (left), managing director of Ballymaguire Foods, with Michael Hoey, chairman of Ballymaguire Foods.
