C&D Foods, the pet food division of ABP, has agreed a €40m contract with Co Donegal-based packaging company ProAmpac.
The contract will see the Donegal ProAmpac facility becoming the supplier of flexible packaging for C&D Foods' operations not just in Ireland but across its European operations.
The contract is expected to facilitate site production expansion and further job creation which will contribute to making the Gaoth Dobhair (Gweedore) plant a global centre of pet food and sustainable ready-to-eat packaging manufacturing.
ProAmpac Donegal, which merged with the former Rapid Action Packaging, is a private US company and an Údarás na Gaeltachta client company.
It employs 200 people locally in Gaoth Dobhair and has 5,200 employees working across 41 operations globally.
C&D Foods is headquartered in Edgeworthstown in Co Longford and is one of the largest pet food manufacturers in Europe.
It employs 452 people in Ireland and a further 1,148 in its production facilities in seven other European countries.
"ProAmpac's partnership with C&D Foods showcases our joint commitment to sustainable practices in flexible packaging. We're looking forward to the launch of additional products, and excited to be a strategic supplier to provide superior pet food packaging in the region," said Greg Tucker, ProAmpac founder and chief executive.
Colm Dore, Managing Director of C&D Foods, that ProAmpac is innovative and forward looking in its approach, and the development of sustainable packaging is fully aligned with C&D’s strategic objectives.
A key element of the new contract will be the development of an innovative more sustainable pet food pouch.
The new sustainable packaging, which is currently being trialled by C&D Foods, will be a pivotal event for the pet food sector, as it will enable pouches to be fully recycled when new advanced recyclable solutions are introduced into many European markets.
Preparation work and trials on the new packaging are now underway with a market launch expected later this year.
