Glanbia announce €15 million R&D hub for Ballyraggett

Glanbia Ireland will turn the sod on a new €15 million Innovation Centre at Ballyragget in the next few weeks.
It will see 50 employees situated in the hub to allow the Kilkenny-based global food giant to work on its own and with its customers, who do not have their own R&D facilities, to bring new and innovative products to the market.

“The centre will allow us to co-create with our customers, utilising our experience with plant and dairy,” explained Aoife Murphy, the company’s Director of Ingredients.
The news was disclosed at Glanbia Ireland’s grain awards which honoured 10 suppliers for their excellence and dedication to delivering high quality products.

“Looking to the future our new €15 million R&D centre in Ballyragget will increase our capabilities, utilise synergies across the business and allow us to bring new products to the marketplace," Ms Murphy said.

Planning permission for the facility was secured in November 2019. It will be built adjacent to the current facility in Ballyragget and is due to come on stream early in 2021.
The Innovation Centre will be close to 2,000 square metres in size and will provide the expanded R&D team of over 50 people with the capabilities to create an innovation pipeline that can bring products speedily and efficiently to market.
"It will allow for innovation in both our dairy and our high-quality grains portfolios,” added Ms Murphy.