Foster announces support for new Tyrone export-led meat business
Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster is pictured at the company with Flor McCarthy, Managing Director of Triple Eight Proteins (left) and Milton Edwards, Production Manager.
Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster has announced that Triple Eight Proteins in Ballygawley is expanding with the aim of growing exports of pork and poultry products.
The company is a subsidiary of Food-Bridge Ltd, a Cork meat exporting company with an established international network. The parent company is making the investment.
Triple Eight Proteins is being assisted by Invest Northern Ireland to develop overseas sales, and the investment will create 18 new jobs, including three at management level, over the next three years. The company currently employs 12 people.
During a visit to the company, the Minister said: “Triple Eight Proteins began operations in Ballygawley last year and is already exporting its total output to customers in developing markets such as Hong Kong, West Africa, South Africa and Eastern Europe.
“This investment will enable it to expand manufacturing and to develop its capacity and capability for accelerated growth overseas.
“The investment by the Republic of Ireland parent company is a significant development for the local pork and especially poultry processing sector, now one of our most successful export sectors.
“In addition, through this investment Triple Eight will offer further employment opportunities, including management posts in important functions such as export marketing, in a predominantly rural community.”
Flor McCarthy, Triple Eight’s Managing Director, commenting on the investment, said: “Our decision to set up the business in Ballygawley was to test the market potential of the products we proposed to provide.
“The decision has proved an outstanding success and we now selling 100% of our output to markets beyond the United Kingdom and Ireland.
“As a direct result of this success in a relatively short space of time, we’ve now decided to expand the business both in terms of capacity and export capability. The investment programme that we are now implementing involves a significant expansion of our manufacturing and other operations.
“This investment will lead to significant improvements in productivity, cost efficiency and overall competitiveness in the markets that we have targeted for growth. From personal experience, I am confident that we can grow sales quickly and profitably in Asia, West Africa, South Africa and Eastern Europe.
“Our overall objective is to triple exports by 2014 through an expansion of sales in existing markets and marketing initiatives to develop business in other regions where there is demand for the range of quality products that we offer particularly to foodservice operators.
“We are also drawing on the experience and network of Food-Bridge in our export marketing activities.”
Source: investni.com
