“This would be a very common gesture in Polish culture,” said Lukasz as he made the very kind offering of half a granola bar while sitting beside me on my flight into the unknown. My chat with the off-duty Ryanair cabin crew member delved into everything from the recent census, the need for travel and exploration and finally, a crash course in cool and casual phrases to get me up to speed with my Polish.

He succeeded in not only calming my nerves and reservations, but also instilling a giddy excitement in me for my summer internship with ABP in Poznan, Poland.

I’m currently a third-year student at UCD, majoring in food and agribusiness at the School of Agriculture and Food Science. The production, manufacturing and selling of food products has always fascinated me. An area which interests me greatly is how major companies manage to consistently produce high-quality products at increasing rates while being mindful to our environment.

Environmental and sustainability programme

During my time in Poznan, I will gain experience through the implementation of ABP’s environmental and sustainability group-wide programme. ABP is currently one of the most sustainable and energy-efficient companies in Europe.

When I first walked into the reception here, to the right of the smiley and bright-eyed receptionists, my gaze met the framed environmental and sustainability target and objectives statement, signed by chief executive Paul Finnerty and John Durcan, the group’s environmental and sustainability manager.

I see adherence to these targets from boardroom to factory floor as imperative to the company’s success. Initiatives such as 100% by-product recovery and an already achieved target of zero waste to landfill are just a few of the ways in which APB is on track to meeting their overall corporate targets for 2020.

These measures are not only cost-effective for both ABP and the consumer, they also assist in lessening the impact on the business’s most valuable asset: our environment.

Training at state-of-the-art Cahir plant

Before I travelled to Poznan I underwent a week’s training at ABP’s plant in Cahir, Co Tipperary. After a €50m investment last summer, its state-of-the-art facilities were like nothing I have ever seen before. From the Bee Boutique Hotel located in its biodiversity corner to the fast-paced CPM area, everything that APB represents in terms of innovation, commitment to sustainability and efficiency was right in front of me.

Having completed the first portion of my placement with Glenilen Farm, the award-winning artisan dairy company in the wilds of west Cork, I’m lucky enough to be able to contrast the operations of these two highly successful companies operating at completely different scales.

Although the two plants in Poland, Pniewy and Klosowice, are smaller operations, I immediately noticed that the same level of expertise and consistently high standards have been adopted in these relatively new locations for the company.

Pniewy was the first site purchased by ABP in 2011, where the company initially carried out both the abattoir and boning hall activities. Following the purchase of the second site in Klosowice in May 2013, they were able to move all the boning hall activities to this newly acquired factory (which had just been renovated by the previous occupant in 2012) and dedicate the Pniewy site to the abattoir operations.

Housemates helping with assimilation

My assimilation into ABP has been enhanced by friendly colleagues and my housemates, Stephen and Ronan, who also work in ABP. Ronan is on the graduate programme and Stephen is being trained for a management position. We have already had a few trips into the Main Square, Stary Rynek (photo, right) and idyllic runs around lake Jexioro Kierskie.

Having a huge interest in international cuisine, I’ve also taken great pleasure in experimenting with everything this region has to offer: the kielbasa (pronounced kewbassa) and sauerkraut are fast becoming a staple part of my diet.

I know that over the following months, I will gain invaluable experience in the workplace while the pleasures of Polish life and culture will bring me on a learning curve of its own.

Gillian Meagher travels on the professional work experience programme supported by the Irish Farmers Journal and the Agricultural Science Association.

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Full coverage: Poland