Kerry Group to establish Global Technology & Innovation Centre in Ireland

Kerry Group, the global ingredients & flavours and consumer foods group, today announced the establishment of an industry-leading Kerry Global Technology & Innovation Centre in Ireland to serve the Group’s global and regional customers in the EMEA Region. The new flagship global technology and customer innovation centre will serve as a key focal point for Kerry’s customer engagement activities providing strategic customers with access to the Group’s complete breadth and depth of technologies, scientific research, innovation and applications expertise across food, beverage and pharmaceutical markets. Located on a 28 acre site in the Millennium Business Park, Naas [adjacent to the M7 and M50 Dublin motorways] Kerry Group will invest €100 million in the new campus which will accommodate 800 people in 2015 and a further 100 positions when fully commissioned by mid-2016. The new Kerry Global Technology & Innovation Centre will also include Kerry Ingredients & Flavours EMEA regional management, 1 Kerry Global Business Services and support functions.

Speaking at the announcement in Dublin today, Stan McCarthy, Kerry Group Chief Executive said: “The establishment of this new global technology and innovation centre is consistent with the Group’s 1 Kerry Strategy for Sustainable Growth, providing our customers with access to Kerry’s total technical and innovation capability to optimise product differentiation in the marketplace and provide unrivalled speed to market. Working in tandem with the Group’s existing technology and innovation facilities, the new Centre will focus Groupwide capability to drive strategic customer engagement and sustainable growth”.

Welcoming the support of the Irish Government for this project, Mr McCarthy added that the new centre would bring significant career development opportunities supporting functional and business leadership development throughout the Kerry organisation and would assist in accelerating graduate / early career development, talent management and training.

Construction of the new facility will commence in early 2013 once planning is complete.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny who along with Minister Richard Bruton and Minister Simon Coveney attended this morning’s announcement said…

“The decision by Kerry Group, with the support of the Irish Government, to establish this ground breaking facility in Ireland will bolster our strong reputation as a globally renowned country for food production and innovation. The creation of 800 high skilled jobs going into this facility in addition to the 400 immediate construction jobs will be a great boost to the economy and for the people working in these industries. As one of Ireland’s finest indigenous companies we look forward to working closely with Kerry during the development of this Global Technology & Innovation Centre”.