Managing director of O’Brien Fine Foods John O’Brien said: “We will be looking to employ in all areas, including operators, supervisors, team leaders and food science graduates.”

The jobs are expected to be created over the next two years and will bring the number of employees at the Co Kildare facility from 270 to 310.

The investment will involve an 8,000 sq m expansion of an existing building and will create a further 150 jobs through the construction phase.

The expansion will allow the company to “double capacity, improve efficiency and positively impact sustainability”.

Economic recovery

Mr O’Brien added that the extension will also enable the company to expand the types of meat which the company processes: “We are currently 97% pork and 3% beef. We would like to expand on beef processing and grow into chicken and turkey.”

O’Brien Find Foods operates under the Brady Family and Rudds brands and the investment is supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through Enterprise Ireland.

Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney welcomed the additional employment and described the food and drink industry as a “driving force in our economic recovery since 2009”.

If you are interested in a career in the agri-industry, come along to the Irish Farmers Journal’s Agri Careers Fair, which takes place in the RDS on 3 March 2015. For more information, click here.