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Construction Start Kilkenny Cheese National Event Ireland
The start of construction of the new Kilkenny Cheese factory in Ireland this week was an event of national significance. In addition to the management of Glanbia and A-ware, a government delegation with 3 ministers, including the future prime minister, was also present.
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In Belview, the south of Ireland, people are happy with the employment and new export opportunities that the new cheese factory should bring. Irish dairy farming and dairy have been hit by Brexit and a new factory that also makes other types of cheese is therefore very welcome, the politicians made clear.
Irish government pleased with the arrival of the factory
Now Deputy Prime Minister and Prime Minister-designate Leo Varadkar: "It is an honor to be in Belview for the start of construction on this brand new €200 million cheese factory. The UK's decision to
Leaving the EU was a very major event for the Irish
agrifood sector. Our business owners and farmers have risen to every challenge over the years, working incredibly hard to protect jobs and grow businesses too. I believe this facility is a perfect example of that resilience, flexibility and determination. The arrival of Kilkenny Cheese is a huge boost for the South East of Ireland.”
Varadkar indicated that the government will do its best to do something about lengthy legal procedures that often hold up important projects. The A-ware and Glanbia cheese factory is not the only or first project to suffer from long delays. Varadkar wants to take action on that."
To 50.000 tons of cheese
CEO Jan Anker of A-ware also expressed his satisfaction with the start of construction. "The collaboration with Glanbia Co-op, which we launched in 2019
announced, fits in with our strategy to build innovative and sustainable chains through long-term partnerships and thus be able to offer our customers a broad product portfolio. The Kilkenny Cheese joint venture gives us access to additional volumes of cheese from a controlled chain and thus supports our growth ambition. We look forward to the opening of this new factory in 2024.”
The factory is scheduled to start operating in 2024 and can produce up to 50.000 tons of cheese of the Gouda, Edam and Emmental varieties annually. For this purpose, 450 million kilos of milk are supplied from more than 4500 dairy farmers.