New Kilkenny Cheese plant opens doors to local milk supplier for first tours

Tirlán welcomed 1,800 milk suppliers to its Belview processing campus and the neighbouring Kilkenny Cheese facility on Tuesday, 13 and Wednesday, 14 October for two special Milk Supplier Open Days, highlighting the people, investment and innovation behind the two facilities.

The two-day event gave visitors a behind-the-scenes look at how high-quality milk from Tirlán farm families is transformed into continental cheese and advanced dairy ingredients for customers around the world. It also highlighted the role of investment, technology, innovation and partnership in creating long-term value for Co-op Members.

Visitors took part in guided tours of both manufacturing facilities, following the milk journey through processing, cheese production, evaporation, drying, packing and dispatch.

The experience concluded in an interactive Expo area where suppliers met Tirlán representatives and learned more about the destination of the finished products. Kilkenny Cheese is a joint venture between Tirlán and Dutch dairy company Royal A-ware. The €220 million facility began processing milk in January 2024 and produces Gouda and Edam cheeses.

The facility is expected to process approximately 467 million litres of milk in 2026, with production heading towards 55,000 tonnes of cheese.

The neighbouring Tirlán Belview facility began commercial operations in 2015 following an initial investment of €180 million. The 52-acre site produces a range of dairy ingredients for Irish and international customers.

Ger O’Brien, Chairperson Tirlán said the Open Days gave milk suppliers a greater understanding of how their milk is processed and marketed beyond the farm gate.

“These Open Days are an opportunity for our milk suppliers to see first-hand the people, expertise and technology involved in transforming the high-quality milk produced on their farms into valuable dairy products for customers around the world. Feedback from attendees was hugely positive”.

Seán Molloy CEO Tirlán added: “We were proud to open our doors and welcome our milk suppliers to see inside our excellent Belview facilities. This was an opportunity for our farmers to meet the teams behind the facilities, experience the scale of the operations and see how quality, safety, efficiency and continuous improvement are embedded across both sites. I would like to thank farmers for taking the time to attend and for their excellent engagement with our teams over the two days”.