On Friday, Aurivo officially opened its new spray dryer facility in Ballaghaderreen, Co Roscommon, which is a “significant element” of Aurivo’s €48m capital investment programme announced in 2018.

The dryer is to boost Aurivo’s dairy ingredients capacity by 55%, producing over 60,000t of milk powders for international markets and 15,000t of butter annually.

The new facility uses bulk renewable natural gas as its heat energy source. It is the first manufacturing facility in the country to use this energy source.

Opening the dryer, Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed said: “At a time of uncertainty with issues such as Brexit looming in the background, this and other capital investment initiatives under Aurivo’s ambitious five-year strategy programme is a vote of confidence for growth potential within the Irish dairy sector.

The new dryer will ensure that the future generations of farming families’ suppliers and employees are in a safe, well-governed co-op

“I’d like to congratulate Aurivo for its continued commitment to supporting the growth ambitions of its members and its role in helping to ensure that Ireland remains at the forefront within the global dairy marketplace,” he said.

Pat Duffy, chair of Aurivo said: “This investment would not be possible without the support of Aurivo’s milk suppliers, who continue to supply premium quality milk as well as continued financial support through share standard.

“The new dryer will ensure that the future generations of farming families’ suppliers and employees are in a safe, well-governed co-op and that all milk produced in this region will be processed to the highest standards for our numerous markets around the globe.”

New international markets

Aurivo CEO Aaron Forde said enhanced facilities ensure an enhanced service to Aurivo’s existing customers as well as enabling the company to access new international markets.

“This is an example of our growth strategy in action and plays an important role in achieving our goal to grow Aurivo by 25% to a 500m litre milk business over the next three years. This is well on track.

“The opening, aligned with other investments, are a central part of growth plan for the business, ensuring that we continue to be well positioned to effectively leverage international market expansion potential,” he said.

The investment has been supported by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation through Enterprise Ireland.

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