Dunbia expands operations in Northern Ireland
Dunbia, one of the UK and Ireland's leading beef and lamb processors is investing £27 million at its headquarters at Dungannon in Northern Ireland and creating 209 new jobs over the next three years.
Dunbia NI's processing operations already employ almost 1,000 people in the procurement, slaughter and de-boning of cattle and sheep, wholesale distribution and retail packing of beef and lamb.
The investment will create an intelligent boning hall and upgrade the company's beef mince and diced burger lines to increase overall productivity levels and support the growth in sales outside Northern Ireland.
The investment in innovative technology and production processes will enable Dunbia to maximise the return on its resources and remain cost-competitive. The new boning hall will help the company achieve economies of scale while the installation of new production lines, using the most modern automated retail butchery, will increase retail packing efficiencies.
The red meat sector is an important part of Northern Ireland's £Â£4.5 billion food industry which has continued to grow despite the economic downturn and exports products to customers in 60 countries.
Dunbia NI is part of the Dunbia Group which employs around 4,000 people over 11 sites.
Jim Dobson, managing director of Dunbia Group, says: "Innovation has been at the heart of our success and this investment in new production technology will create a centre of excellence for beef deboning in Ireland.
"It will help us to maintain our position as a leading meat processor in the UK and Ireland and to deliver on our growth strategy over the next three to five years," he adds.
Pic caption: Enterprise, Trade and Investment Minister Arlene Foster is pictured with Jim Dobson, Managing Director of Dunbia Group during today's announcement.