Agribusiness group Glanbia said it is in advanced negotiations with Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) and Select Milk Producers to build a $170 million cheese and whey products production facility in Western Texas.
This new plant will be 50 per cent owned by Glanbia with the balance jointly owned by Dairy Farmers and Select.
The proposed project will be funded by way of $35 million of equity investment each by Glanbia and DFA/Select with the remainder directly financed by the joint venture entity.
Commissioning of the new facility is expected in the second half of 2005, and once fully operational, it is anticipated that the new facility will generate sales in the region of $340 million per year annum and employ approximately 200 staff.
Glanbia will have full responsibility for operations and for sales and marketing of the product stream through its existing structures.
Once fully commissioned, the new facility will annually process over 1 billion litres of milk and produce 115,000 tonnes of cheese and 7,500 tonnes of high value added whey proteins.
It is expected that the plant will also, over time, become the largest advanced whey processing facility in the Northern Hemisphere, the company said.
Mr John Moloney, group managing director of Glanbia, said: "This project will be a significant step forward in the implementation of Glanbia's growth strategy," and "will position us as the number one producer of American type cheddar cheese in the USA and simultaneously build our global position as a supplier of advanced technology whey proteins to the nutritional sector".
AFP