IDB Complete Its Investment in Leek

At the formal opening on Friday 14th October, Minister Shane McEntee T.D., Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, said, “The Irish Dairy Board’s (IDB) new state of the art Adams Food Ingredients (AFI) manufacturing centre in Leek, Staffordshire marks the successful delivery of a €70million capital development programme by the IDB in Britain over the past five years.

As Ireland’s leading trading partner, maintaining a strong presence in the British market is critical to driving exports and to meeting the growing demand from food manufacturers for high quality dairy-based ingredients.”

The new AFI plant is dedicated to developing customised dairy ingredient solutions, aimed at customers in Britain and export markets. It complements the IDB’s cheese pre-packaging plant, also based in Leek, which was commissioned in 2009 and is the largest pre-packer of cheese to the British retail sector.

The new dedicated powder blending production facility further strengthens AFI’s position in the British market as a leading specialist of dairy-based food formulations by:

• Doubling capacity to over 20,000t/y;
• Providing a purpose-built innovation centre;
• Applying the most advanced technology in specialist dairy applications;
• Offering customers a wider range of formulations and customised premix solutions;
• Giving greater flexibility to produce a range of packaging formats to meet specific customer needs.

Clegg Food Projects, which provides turnkey solutions for the food industry across the UK, won the contract to work on the design and construction of this 60,000ft2 factory, which was commissioned in 2009. Steve Giltrap, managing director of Clegg Food Projects said: “This is the second project we have carried out for the Adams group. We are delighted to have worked with the company again, helping to support their success and continued growth. We have drawn upon our technical knowledge and practical experience of the food manufacturing sector to ensure we have achieved the best possible outcome for Adams.”

AFI is a leading UK supplier of dairy and functional food solutions that supplies a large range of dairy ingredients from Irish and world sources, including skimmed, full cream milk and buttermilk Powder, whey powder and milk proteins. Specialist products including:
• Dairy flavour range of cheese, cream, butter and yoghurt powders;
• Adlac Silver – cost effective milk powder to create rich, white sauces;

In addition, AFI creates bespoke blends by working with ingredient users to develop functional products across all food industry sectors, from Ready Meals and soups and sauces to bakery and beverages.

Speaking at the official opening, Minister McEntee said, “This initiative consolidates the position of the Irish Dairy Board and indeed the dairy sector in our most important export market. Indeed exports of dairy products to the UK in 2010 were valued at almost €800 million and there is considerable growth potential in this market. Food Harvest 2020 sets ambitious targets for the development of the Irish dairy industry over the next decade. Establishing more efficient routes to market will be a critical requirement if we are to maximise the potential of the sector. I am delighted to see that the IDB is playing its part in this effort, and I congratulate all of those involved in bringing this ambitious project to fruition.”

IDB CEO, Kevin Lane said, “This investment provides the Irish dairy industry with further market opportunities to meet the growing demand from food manufacturers for high quality dairy ingredients. Our purpose built innovation centre allows us to work more closely with food manufacturers in developing specific formulations. This investment underpins our commitment in building routes to market for Irish dairy exports and is in line with our ingredients strategy of adding value.”

To find out more please telephone 00353 1 602 2268 or visit www.askadams.co.uk.