FoodCentral, Ireland’s sustainable food park has had a number of high profile visits from key local and foreign visitors, highlighting the growing success of the initiative.
FoodCentral was established last year in order to cluster food and drink companies together at a strategic location to improve competitiveness, share learnings and drive efficiency. Currently located in FoodCentral are three major players in the food industry - Keelings, Donnelly and Brakes.
FoodCentral is ideally located for food and drink businesses. It adjoins Dublin Airport, it’s situated close to the main motorways and Dublin Port Tunnel for ease of distribution and sourcing of raw materials. Currently 75% of Ireland’s retail food distribution operates within 25km of FoodCentral, highlighting the importance of this region for the industry.
FoodCentral has had some high profile visitors of late, most recently Taoiseach Enda Kenny. Mr. Kenny was on hand to discuss the opportunities available to Irish businesses in the park and the attraction it could generate for foreign investment.
One of the key attractions at the park is the CHP (combined heat and power unit). This 2.0 megawatt unit has been installed on site and will be further integrated into all operations in FoodCentral. There is also a shared waste water pump station & centralised facilities management.
The food park already has over 1,000 people employed within it and is planned to accommodate business operations across the food industry in a sustainable “green” environment. In this regard, William Keeling, Managing Director of Food Central, noted. “It has been great to see the continued development in the horticultural farm located within Food Central. Strawberry and raspberry seasons are in full flow and peppers and aubergines have been harvested in the state-of-the-art glasshouses since the beginning of Spring”.