A €40 million packaging deal for pet food company C&D Foods has given a Gaoth Dobhair company a huge boost.
The new multi-year deal by parent company ABP will see West Donegal company ProAmpac boost its production to a much larger scale.
The deal was announced by Minister for Agriculture, Food and The Marine, Charlie McConalogue.
The contract will see the ProAmpac facility becoming the strategic supplier of pet food flexible packaging for C&D Foods’ operations, not just in Ireland, but across its European operations.
The Donegal company currently has 200 employees but the workforce, as well as the size of the plant, is expected to increase with this contract.
all in all, the contract will make Gaoth Dobhair a global centre of pet food and sustainable ready-to-eat packaging manufacturing.
ProAmpac Donegal (which merged with the former Rapid Action Packaging) is a private US company and an Údarás na Gaeltachta client company.
Commenting on the announcement, Minister McConalogue said: “A key component of our Programme for Government is a balanced regional economic development and seeing a project of this nature is great news for Donegal and the north west region as a whole.
“Donegal is a great county for employment with a highly skilled, motivated and educated workforce. I commend ProAmpac for this investment and I look forward to seeing the fruits of this great partnership.”
Colm Dore, managing director of C&D Foods said: “ProAmpac is innovative and forward looking in its approach, and the development of sustainable packaging is fully aligned with C&D’s strategic objectives. We look forward to working with them for many years to come.”
Greg Tucker, ProAmpac founder and CEO added: “ProAmpac’s partnership with C&D Foods showcases our joint commitment to sustainable practices in flexible packaging.
“We’re looking forward to the launch of additional products, and excited to be a strategic supplier to provide superior pet food packaging in the region.”
C&D Foods has said that a key element of the contract will be the development of an innovative, more sustainable pet food pouch.
The new sustainable packaging, which is currently being trialled, will enable pouches to be fully recycled when new advanced recyclable solutions are introduced into many European markets.
Preparation work and trials on the new packaging are now underway with a market launch expected later this year.
