Dairygold CEO Jim Woulfe.
Dairygold Co-Op was named Cork Company of the Year last weekend at the Cork Chamber annual dinner, where Chief Executive Jim Woulfe accepted the prestigious trophy. The win follows an exciting few years of expansion for the co-op, and in his acceptance speech Mr Woulfe said the company has increased milk production by 50% in six years, and added that he was “merely the captain accepting the cup on behalf of the Dairygold team”. As well as the overall award, Dairygold also won the ‘Large Company of the Year’ accolade.
Mr Woulfe paid tribute to the company’s suppliers and staff, saying that the co-op had been faced with an opportunity six years ago to prepare for the ending of the European Union superlevy regime. “I’m really proud that the Dairygold team rose to the challenge, and our suppliers, some 2,900 milk producers, upped their output from 800 million litres of milk to 1.2 billion litres of milk, all of which is being processed here in Co Cork,” he said.
Formed in 1990 following a merger between Ballyclough and Mitchelstown co-operatives, Dairygold is now Ireland’s largest farmer-owned dairy business and the country’s second largest dairy processor, producing 1.2 billion litres of milk annually (around 20% of the Irish milk pool) from its 2,900 milk suppliers, with 95% of its dairy products exported worldwide. With 1,150 employees and a turnover of €800m, its dairy business produces milk powders, whey proteins and cheeses. The co-op has a current capital investment programme of €215 million, and has attracted key strategic partners to make significant investments with the establishment of the Kerrygold-branded butter centre of excellence in Mitchelstown, and through the manufacture of its globally recognised Jarlsberg cheese brand in Mogeely in East Cork. The Cork and wider Munster region is significantly benefitting economically from Dairygold’s success and growth, which will result in an additional €250m of economic benefit being generated per annum in the wider community.