Vegetable processor Gilfresh Produce in Co Armagh has installed an anaerobic digester to tackle its increasing energy costs.

The firm invested over £2.5 million in the project which will see 120 tonnes per week of waste vegetables being used to generate enough energy to power the factory. The investment was supported by Danske Bank.

The anaerobic digester will allow the business to be self-sufficient energy producers at a time when rising costs are putting pressure on companies across Northern Ireland.

William Gilpin, partner at Gilfresh Produce said: "Four years ago we realised that we could utilise our waste products in a more efficient way. At that point we were selling waste vegetables to farmers for feed at a very low margin. The business was facing several pressures including increasing energy costs, poor weather and challenging trading conditions. We travelled to a few sites in Europe to see how anaerobic digesters could work for us and we saw that it would complement and enhance our business operations."

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"It has taken a lot of planning but we are finally at the stage where the system is up and running and producing electricity. We have one full time employee who is in charge of the digester, which sits in a three acre field beside our factory.

"Our core business banking is with Danske Bank and when we approached them about our idea for this system they were very keen to help. We were concerned that we would need to look at an external investor with higher interest rates, however Danske presented us with an excellent proposal to support our business in its plans for the future."

(CD/LM)