Norwegian dairy group Tine has announced that it plans to invest €77 million in a new Jarlsberg cheese plant in Ireland.
The company says that it is expanding its operations to boost sales of Jarlsberg outside Norway, and the new facility will have the capacity to produce 20,000 tonnes of cheese per year for exports.
"Jarlsberg for the Norwegian market will continue to be produced in Norway with Norwegian milk," said Hanne Refsholt, CEO of Tine.
"But now we have built up a solution that has the future ahead of us, and are implementing this project to secure and increase sales of Jarlsberg outside Norway."
New Facility
Tine's new cheese facility will be located adjacent to the existing Dairygold plant in Mongeely, Cork.
The Irish dairy cooperative has had a partnership with Tine for over ten years, and is also set to invest in this project.
"Jarlsberg is a world-class cheese and we are looking forward to supporting Tine in its efforts to increase international sales," said James Lynch, chairman of Dairygold.
"I am confident that the proposed new Jarlsberg plant in Cork is only the start of the next phase of a long and fruitful collaboration between our two farms."
Tine says that the project in still in the planning phase, and some public approvals remain.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Sarah Harford. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
