A historic day for Glanbia as Belview opens

An Taoiseach Enda Kenny and EU Commissioner Phil Hogan made short speeches highlighting the importance of the facility. Invited guests were also treated to speeches from the Glanbia Chairman Liam Herlihy, Glanbia Ingredients Chief Executive Jim Bergin, and Group PLC Chief Executive Siobhan Talbot. Sean Molloy, Director of Operations at Glanbia Ingredients chaired the opening ceremony and introductory speeches.

What they said

Liam Herlihy proclaimed it as a historic day for the company and the Irish dairy industry. Liam explained this is the realisation of very ambitious plans developed by the board, management and shareholders. Liam said, “Without the loyalty of suppliers and shareholders we would not have been able to build this state of the art facility to the highest infant formula standards.”

Chief Executive of Glanbia Ingredients Jim Bergin was next to speak. Jim explained the first step in the process was to survey suppliers to measure their growth plans and the result suggested milk supply would increase 56% over a short number of years. He said this set out the parameters of the challenge for the board and management. Jim complimented the staff and workforce that made Belview happen and said the 1.6 million labour hours and over 750 ground staff had done a terrific job. Jim said, “To have the facility completed to this standard after 19 months is phenomenal but there will be a full commissioning project over coming weeks and months.”

Group PLC Chief Executive Siobhan Talbot said, “Glanbia employs 5,800 people globally with 2,000 here in Ireland and to spend this sort of money here in Ireland is a further reinforcement of our commitment to Ireland and our suppliers. Four out of ten US consumers want more dairy and this nutrition facility will deliver for them. I’m proud to be able to do this on your behalf and thanks for your support.”

The tour

Visitors were treated to a 40 minute whistle stop tour around the facility. Dressed from head to toe in white protective clothing visitors were taken through the gleaming new facility. Hygiene is paramount and it was very evident with crystal clean walls and floors and shining new steel.

Nobody was allowed into the inner core of the factory where contact with product is possible. Instead visitors were taken around the factory in groups of 20 and they were given short explanations of the different processes and investments.

The first stop was the milk input station where milk tankers pull up and empty their load at a rate of 55,000 litres per hour. Hooking the milk pipe of the tanker to the on-site collection vats is the only human intervention required until the powder is loaded onto distribution lorries on the way out of the site. There are five milk intake bays and cream from the separated milk is brought to Ballyraggett. At peak intake the facility will take in 104 milk lorries per day.

At the first stop internally Andrea Galvin explained the energy and sustainability aspects of the site. Recycled concrete was used in the construction and all internal heating is energy recovered from milk processing. The site is fuelled by gas and there is primary waste treatment on site.

Quality Manager Noelle Brennan explained that there are zones within the factory all in an effort to prevent contamination of product from the outside. She said, “much like an onion there are protective layers within the factory and it is a requirement to change clothes moving between the zones as you get closer and closer to the product.”

Engineer Barry Jordan discussed the liquid processing aspect of the site and explained how the milk is pasteurised and standardised with the milk then separated into skim and cream products. Liam Connors explained the lean manufacturing aspect of the factory.

Clare Clancy talked about the removal of water from milk by the driers and how the 45m high drying towers will bring the 10% solids liquid to 50% solids using the most up to date spray drying techniques.

Conor Feeney took visitors into the control room which is the nerve centre of the factory. From there milk can be moved from one section of the factory to the other by touch screen. There are numerous screens in the control room to show the evaporators, the milk intake, the drier and powder packaging process. Effectively this is a remote control plant and you can move milk around the factory at the touch of a button.

The packaging hall is robot controlled and robots can pack the 25 kilo bags of powder at 12 tonnes of product per hour with palletising and plastic wrapping. Tom Farrell explained there is no storage or warehousing on site and all product is transported off site loaded onto trucks at either of the five loading bays.

The visit to the packaging hall completed an impressive facility tour that is using the highest safety and technological standards to turn raw milk to a high quality powder using 21st century efficiency.

Belview in numbers

• €235m investment

• First Greenfield milk processing investment in more than 40 years

• Driers have capacity to process milk from 60,000 cows per day

• 1.6 million labour hours in site development

• Over 750 ground staff with 900 on site some days

• Facility completed to this standard after 19 months

• Glanbia employs 5,800 people globally with 2,000 in Ireland

• Ability to take in 104 milk lorries at peak

• Milk downloaded at 55,000 litres per hour

• 25 kilo bags of powder packed at 12 tonnes of product per hour by a robot