A-ware shuts plant in Belgium

Royal A-ware is to close its Olympia dairy plant in Belgium. A run of negative financial results since 2018 was the final straw.

A-ware took over the company in 2022. It said that since then it as invested in the company but that, in the end, the buildings and infrastructure are so outdated that a total redevelopment is needed to meet current and future efficiency and quality requirements.

A-ware says the investment that this requires is not economically justifiable. The move is sure to prick up the ears of Tirlán suppliers and the top brass at the co-op.

A-ware is a joint venture partner with Tirlán in the form of the Kilkenny Cheese plant at Belview, which makes gouda and edam.

The milk for the cheese factory is supplied by Tirlán suppliers. The plant produced 40,000t of cheese last year, with hopes to produce 50,000t this year. It’s Royal A-ware’s job to sell the cheese but Tirlán gets to sell the whey.

It’s what Tirlán does with the whey that is the subject of speculation, with a big investment required if it hopes to get into the higher value whey protein isolate and whey protein concentrate-80 game at scale.

Meanwhile, The Dealer has learned that the board of Tirlán is currently on a tour of duty in China.

With their noses out of joint over the Glanbia share price debacle, I wonder are they thinking of investing their now-reduced investment pot with the Communists?