Ornua, as the Irish Dairy Board is now known, is today opening a new €38m butter and packaging facility in Mitchelstown in Co Cork.
The new Kerrygold Park facility will employ 65 people initially and will have the capacity to produce 50,000 tonnes of butter per year.
The investment is part of a plan to grow Kerrygold export sales from their current level of €750m a year to more than €1 billion.
Ornua is the largest exporter of Irish dairy products, exporting to over 110 countries worldwide.
The company said that Kerrygold Park will ensure a world-class supply chain to support both its planned growth target and the further development of the brand.
"Kerrygold Park is core to our ambitious plans to develop the Kerrygold brand from a butter brand to a dairy brand," commented Ornua's chief executive Kevin Lane.
"Not only will the new facility significantly enhance our production, it also greatly improves our innovation capability and our ability to deliver premium dairy products to consumers around the world. This is the most effective way of securing value for Irish dairy farmers," Mr Lane added.
