OVER 100 people are to be employed at a new €50 million ingrediant manufacturing plant in Killybegs.
Bio-Marine Ingredients, which is majority owned by Killybegs fishermen, hopes to begin construction of the project in the second half of next year. Work is already under way to clear the site.
Bio-Marine CEO Jason Whooley said the company had recently signed two significant contracts in Asia.
The company was set up in 2014 to develop value-added products for the fishing industry. He said that the Killbegs Fishermen’s Organisation established the business having identified the need to diversify, to add value to secure their future and also the future of south-west Donegal.
Bio-Marine is now producing soluble and insoluble proteins and marine minerals and has moved in to the area of nutraceuticals and infant health. For example, one of its contracts in Asia is for a marine mineral in a tablet form, while another is for sachets of omega 3 powder or protein powder which are sprinkled on the food of young children.
At the moment turnover is almost evenly split between Asia and Europe with a very small amount of revenue coming from the US also.
“We see increasingly over time that shift going more into the high- value Asian markets,” said Mr Whooley.
Bio-Marine has planning for the new plant in Donegal which is three times the size of its existing plant in Monaghan, where it currently employs 40 people.
When completed in 2023, the new Killybegs factory will employ around 100 people.
Jason Whooley said turnover is doubling annually for the business and will reach €8m next year. He added that the company’s order book is 60 per-cent full for next year and one of its main constraints is capacity.