According to Paul Daly, the managing director of the Irish Casing Company, the most important place to be looking when you are producing the byproducts of an animal is in the bin.

“Some people say the fifth-quarter is the most important,” says Paul, who will be speaking at the Billions in Byproducts slot on the main stage at the Agri Careers Fair.

“Each part adds value to the animal, and for the past 36 years we have stood at the end of the production line to see what is being thrown in the bin and how we can make that into a sellable product.”

When animals are slaughtered they are split into four quarters as part of the butchery process. The fifth quarter describes other parts of the body, which can be used by humans and include offal, bones and even the hide of the animal.

The Irish Casing Company was originally established in 1972 by Klaus Jurgen Kersting in Tullamore, Co Offaly, to produce beef casings for Germany.

Casings are soft cylindrical containers usually used to hold sausage mixes together. Casings can be of natural origin (made from animal intestines) or artificial.

Soon after, Irish Casing Company branched into sheep and pork casings and in the 1980s began to take a look at other edible byproducts of animals.

Today, 85% of the business is in these other edible byproducts, and in 2016 the company generated over €70m in turnover.

“Every year our turnover has risen by 10% to 15%,” Paul explains and last year the company began to buy product in Russia and America and export it to Asia.

The Irish Casing Company employs over 150 skilled staff in Ireland and a further 170 across its operations in Europe, Africa and Asia.

Own staff in abattoirs

The Irish Casing Company places its own staff in different abattoirs (for example in big meat processors) around Ireland.

“We put some of our people in the plants and when the product comes to us we produce, package and freeze it all there inside the abattoir,” Paul says.

The Irish Casing Company produces approximately 1,500t of frozen byproduct each week, which goes into approximately 50 to 60 containers, each weighing 25t. Of these, 25 containers go to Africa, 25 to China and 10 to Europe.

“Everyone and every country has their own tastes,” explains Paul, who constantly tries to work out which part of the animal is best suited to which market.

The Japanese love the beef tongue, while the Irish favour fillets of steak. In China they love something chewy and love to eat the stomach of a cow.

“You won’t send anything to Africa unless it is cheap and cheerful, so they will buy the beef feet or the beef nose,” Paul adds.

Branding

Paul says the company has adopted a great branding strategy and each of their products comes in a branded box with a green shamrock logo. On top of this, the company strives for a high-quality product, packaged in a way that looks pleasing to the eye.

“When the people in these countries see the products they become excited by the shamrock, because they recognise it and that it tastes good and is reliable. In this way we have broken the language barrier too,” he explains.

Don’t close doors

Paul notes that his company’s competition often does not have the same continuous level of high quality because they are getting produce from different factories and do not necessarily have their own staff in each.

Nevertheless, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and New Zealand are where most of the competition is.

Paul says he worries when he stands still: “You have to always keep ahead. You never know where the next ban will be and how that will affect the business.” On top of this, he says it is so important to never be tied to just one company or country but be present across all spheres.

He says the Irish Casing Company also understands the importance of the abattoirs, which have in a way opened their homes to the company.

“You never get rich on any abattoir,” Paul says. “You need the abattoir and he needs you, so for the long-term business you have to be honest, fair and share what extra revenue you can bring to the plant.”

Bit by bit

In the past 43 years the business has grown “bit by bit”, changing and adapting to what the market and other factors presented.

In 2000, when the BSE outbreak hit Ireland, the company moved away from its beef casings to beef stomach production. This really caused the business to grow, according to Paul.

Today the company continues to keep up with the challenges and opportunities the global market presents.

Loyal workforce

Paul believes this success is down to the fact that they have a great team and a loyal workforce with some members who have been there for the past 20 or 30 years.

Two of Paul’s brothers also work in the company, and everyone in the company is enthusiastic about what they are doing.