Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The factory in question was officially opened in November 2019 when the fit out of the facility was completed. As a proposed manufacturer of infant formula supplying the Chinese market, the company is required to have their facility fully audited and approved for operations prior to the commencement of any production.

This process includes approval by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) and also inspection and approval by the Chinese authorities (GACC). Delays to this mandatory regulatory approval process were encountered due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and associated travel restrictions. The facility was approved by DAFM for infant formula production in mid-2021 and latterly approved by GACC for infant formula production in September 2022.

In addition to the approval needed to operate an infant formula plant as outlined above, recent legislation changes in China now requires that all recipes for supply into the Chinese infant formula market must also have Chinese authorities’ approval for production. The company, through their parent company in Shanghai, submitted their recipes for approval in January 2023 and anticipate a decision by mid-2023. Once that approval is received, the company can move to trial production stage.

Enterprise Ireland continues to support the company and are actively encouraging them to look at wider business opportunities across the nutritional powders market. Whilst the company are doing this, progress has been much slower than they had anticipated, driven largely by recent inflationary costs. Enterprise Ireland are also supporting them to explore the innovation networks and ecosystem available to them here in Ireland that can support their innovation journey.

Following the recent Trade Mission to China, EI intends to have further engagement with the company working with officials in DAFM, to determine the progress in respect of the original approved project.

There are currently 8 full time workers employed on site, across business development, HR and engineering, with an expectation to grow employment as the business builds.