Mondelez International is to invest US$5m (€3.6m) million in its Cadbury chocolate crumb manufacturing plant in Rathmore, Co Kerry.

As well as securing the future of 86 jobs at the plant, the news will be seen as a welcome signal of the company’s longer term commitment to sourcing Irish milk for their chocolate crumb manufacturing business.

Cadbury source approximately 80 million litres of fresh Irish milk annually for use in chocolate crumb manufacture. Milk is sourced from Kerry Group, Boherbue, Lee Strand and Dairygold.

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Chocolate crumb is the base ingredient for chocolate products. This crumb is used in the Cadbury chocolate factory in Coolock, Dublin and also exported to the United States, Canada and the UK.

The company plans to install a new milk evaporator and new buildings to replace existing technology. This will improve competitiveness, the company said, “through a significant reduction in the use of fuel oil, which will also deliver environmental benefits and production efficiencies, and the potential opportunity for growth in milk capacity”.

The company said that, subject to planning permission, work is scheduled to commence in May 2014 and be completed by August 2015, when the new plant is due to be commissioned.

Head of Manufacturing, Ian O’Toole, said: “Rathmore has a proud manufacturing heritage and we are committed to ensuring it continues. This proposed investment demonstrates confidence in our manufacturing capability.”

Established in 1948, the factory is located on the banks of the river Blackwater in Rathmore, Co Kerry. In the past, sugar travelled by rail from the nearby Irish Sugar factory in Mallow. Since the closure of Irish Sugar in 2006, this key ingredient is now imported.

Cadbury was acquired by the multi-national food giant Kraft in 2010, with the consumer business renamed Mondelez.