ABP Food Group's petfood division, C&D Foods, has announced an investment of €48 million for flagship facility at Edgeworthstown, County Longford.

One hundred new roles will be created through the investment which includes roles in engineering, operations, supply chain and quality assurance. This will increase the site's production capacity by 25 per cent, in addition to this approximately 100 jobs will be created during the construction phase which is underway.

The investment, which is supported by Enterprise Ireland, will result in an extension of the building along with the creation of additional automated multi-packing and pouch filling lines using the most sustainable innovations available.

Colm Dore, Manging Director, C&D Foods, said: "This is an exciting and significant step forward for our business. We are seeing a trend across Europe where consumers are favouring pouched pet food for smaller companion animals, and we are in prime position to continue to capitalise on the growing demand for these types of products.

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"This investment will enable the company to maintain its position at the forefront of the pet food market while also leading to the creation of new high skilled jobs and positive economic development in our local community."

Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation Dara Calleary TD said: "I am delighted to join the C&D Foods team today to celebrate the announcement of the expansion of their facilities and the creation of jobs here in Longford. A key priority for this Government is to foster regional enterprise development and create jobs across all the regions of Ireland. C&D Foods is an Irish company that has experienced impressive growth, producing premium pet food and today’s expansion announcement is a great boost for Longford as well as the wider Midlands region, paving the way for this home-grown company to significantly scale its business. The Government, through Enterprise Ireland, looks forward to continued engagement with C&D Foods to support the growth of the business into the future."

Leo Clancy, CEO, Enterprise Ireland stated: "A key goal for Enterprise Ireland is to support companies to make the transition to the low-carbon, resource-efficient economy of the future by increasing their level of innovation and all the while improving their competitiveness. We have worked closely with C&D foods to support them with their sustainability strategy, reducing carbon by investing in carbon abatement technologies and driving productivity through investing in digitalisation technologies. This large investment into the new showcase plant in Edgeworthstown reflects highly on the entire Irish food sector - pooling together innovation with best-in-class facilities to drive sustainable practices. We look forward to working closely with C&D Foods to optimise their full international growth potential, creating and sustaining jobs here in Longford."