1
DAIRYGOLD CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY LIMITED
JANUARY 2018
CEO Message from Jim Woulfe Chief Executive Dear Colleague, 2017 was a very positive year for our organisation and a remarkable year of milestones. We broke a record by processing in excess of 1.3 billion litres of milk with the highest ever % of milk solids. I’m pleased to say that we achieved this figure, three years ahead of our “Harvest 2020” target. Our Members, and in turn our organisation saw significant business growth this year with strong dairy market returns and excellent weather conditions that extended over the summer and early autumn to drive grass growth and milk production. The strong milk price over the year underpinned the demand for feed and fertiliser inputs with increased sales in our Agri Division. However, for cereal and grain growers, it was another very challenging year and in line with our ethos we demonstrated our support for and commitment to our cereal growers by paying leading prices.
Outlook for 2018 Dairygold has continued to successfully manage the ever-growing milk volumes with efficient processing that has helped us to deliver a strong operational performance and increased returns. The market has been stronger but undoubtedly more volatile, particularly in recent weeks. The coming months will undoubtedly be more challenging particularly against the backdrop of market deterioration, decreasing butter prices and the SMP overhang. Dairy product price volatility will remain a feature for the foreseeable future. Our strategy must remain aligned to the longer-term trend of rising global dairy consumption and value-add rather than short-term fluctuations. Brexit remains one of the most profound challenges that we have faced as an organisation in the context of our dependence on the UK for our cheese exports and as we
have two sites in the UK. We continue to closely monitor the implications of Brexit and focus on ways in which to mitigate negative effects. In relation to our Retail Business, 2018 will see the implementation of our Store Investment Plan – a three-year plan to establish a modern fit-for-purpose store network through a €11.5 million investment. The plan will include store development and enhancements, creating new purposebuilt stores at certain existing locations, the upgrade of some older stores and finally the integration of some stores. Close consultation with staff and other stakeholders will continue as the plan is implemented.
Future Growth Dairygold’s focus will continue to be on broadening our reach and strengthening our returns through managing the volume versus value challenge, achieving increased margins through efficiencies, reducing our dependence on the limited UK cheese market and seizing opportunities in emerging markets such as dairy deficit regions of Asia and Africa.
As an organisation, we proudly accepted the prestigious award of Cork Company of the Year for 2017, Best Large Business Energy Management Award, several top prizes at the Global Cheese Awards, while Co-Op Superstores scooped the title of ‘Best Website of the Year’, a wonderful achievement as the first website of its kind to win the top e-commerce award. Congratulations to all. During the year, we welcomed Cork County Council’s decision to grant planning permission for our multi-millioneuro development in Mogeely with our commercial partners TINE. In recent weeks, TINE also signalled its continued support for the project by announcing that it has officially ratified the funding of €77 million for the development. We await a final decision from An Bord Pleanála in relation to planning which is expected within weeks.
Conclusion I am confident that Dairygold is in a strong position for continued growth and success as an organisation focused on sound and strategic investment not only in our operations but our people.
As part of our nutritional strategy, we are continuing to develop partnerships and products to capitalise on our increased processing capabilities.
I’d like to thank you sincerely for your commitment, enthusiasm and dedication throughout 2017 which has been pivotal to our success and business performance.
Meanwhile, through our cheese strategy, we are developing routes to market, organically and by exploring acquisition opportunities for cheese products to reduce our dependency on the UK market.
We look forward to another positive year for our people and organisation in 2018. Every good wish.
We’re confident that we have put in place a solid foundation in not only our infrastructure but our team which will enable us to achieve our objectives.
Successes & Achievements This year we celebrated an important milestone with the official opening of our Nutritionals Campus in Mallow following an €86 million investment. The site is key to our plans to widen our reach in international markets with a diverse and higher margin value-add product portfolio.
Jim Woulfe Chief Executive
2
JANUARY 2018
FOOD INGREDIENTS EUROPE 2017 SUMMARY In November, the Sales and Marketing teams from Ireland, UK and Germany exhibited at the largest gathering of food & beverage professionals at Food Ingredients Europe 2017 in Frankfurt, Germany. The event boasted 1,800 exhibitors, attracting 26,000 industry professionals and is the global meeting place for all stakeholders in the food ingredients industry, including food and beverage suppliers, research and development, production/marketing specialists and showcases the most innovative ingredients. This was Dairygold’s first time exhibiting on our own space - a 117sqm Island stand in Hall 8. The key deliverable was to bring the Golden Valleys to Frankfurt, putting Dairygold on the Global Stage in Food Ingredients. The stand was split into four zones to represent key themes - Our Story, Nourishing the World, Food Ingredients and Sustainability. The stand used plenty of technology including an interactive story wall which effectively communicated what makes us different; our location within the Golden Valleys, the most fertile pasturelands in the world. There was significant footfall across the three days with Tuesday 28th November, the first day of the show, proving to be the busiest. On Tuesday evening, we hosted an on-stand hospitality event where we invited customers to come and sample canapes made using our cheese ingredients.
Food Ingredients Europe 2017
We successfully differentiated our business from a sea of competitors, attracted quality customer leads and staked our claim on a global stage that we are one of the world’s leading sources of premium dairy nutritionals.
Food Ingredients Europe 2017
Xenia Gonzalez with customers
Eanna Heffernan, Aoife Herlihy, Deirdre Wall and Alice Quirke
DAIRYGOLD’S CO-OP SUPERSTORES WINS ‘E-COMMERCE WEBSITE OF THE YEAR 2018’ AT RETAIL EXCELLENCE AWARDS www.coopsuperstores.ie Ireland’s largest online country store, scooped the coveted title of ‘Website of the Year’ at this year’s Retail Excellence Awards which were held at the Malton Hotel, Killarney in November. The awards celebrate the best of every facet of Irish retail across stores, people, managers and team members, e-commerce and suppliers. Breaking the mould as the first online website of its kind to win the title in the retail awards’ 20 year history, www.coopsuperstores.ie beat off stiff competition from hundreds of Irish e-commerce retailers. Winning the award was a proud achievement for the popular Farm, Home & Garden online store which was launched less than 3 years ago at a time when it was regarded as an early adopter in the Agri Sector to the online e-commerce landscape. E-commerce is part of Co-Op Superstores’ omni-channel retail strategy with their online store working seamlessly with their physical stores across Munster. As part of the prestigious award win, Co-Op Superstores will now go on to represent Ireland at the Global E-commerce Summit which will be held in Barcelona this year.
Commenting on the win, John O’Carroll, Dairygold Retail General Manager said: “We are thrilled to have won the award of ‘Website of the Year’ particularly as the first website in the sector to have done so. This award is testament to our vision and commitment to providing our customers with a first-class customer experience that is in line with consumer demand and trends of today. Dairygold, through our retail division Co-Op Superstores, is fully committed to providing a seamless omni-channel retail offering that is customer focused and our e-commerce site www.coopsuperstores.ie plays a key part in this. I would like to thank my team whose passion, professionalism and dedication has been instrumental in winning this award.” David Fitzsimons, Chief Executive of Retail Excellence commented: “Dairygold Co-Op Superstores are a superb example of agri-retailers breaking new ground by embracing the potential of online selling and we are delighted to see them take the national title of Website of the Year. Our awards process was very thorough from start to finish. We interviewed every finalist in this competition with the help of some of the best e-commerce retailers and industry leaders in the game.”
“As always the competition was intense and with the coveted nature of the title every finalist reached new heights in promoting retail excellence within their operations which made it all the more difficult to select the overall winner. Dairygold Co-Op Superstores triumph is testament to the hard work of the owners, their staff and investment in their retail operations.”
Left to right: Gillian Foley, John O’Carroll, Denise Cronin Jones, Derek Burke, Elaine Hayes.
3
DAIRYGOLD CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY LIMITED
QUALITY REBRAND - THE ROLE OF QUALITY CONTROL Quality of produce is a very important factor for the sustainability and growth of every business. In May 2017, Dairygold’s Quality Function was split into two very distinct Functions, i.e. Quality Control (QC) and Quality Assurance (QA). This allowed both groups to focus on their own key areas of expertise, which are quite different from each other. QA is process oriented, with the primary focus on ensuring that product is consistently manufactured to the quality standards appropriate for its intended use. It focuses on defect prevention. QC on the other hand is product oriented. QC oversees all product testing within the business to ensure that products released are within the required specifications for the customer. It focuses on defect identification and is effectively the process monitoring element of the business. Each year, millions of samples are tested across each of the five Dairygold In-Process Laboratories and all results are then communicated to the respective customers. QC’s results ensure that protection is provided for our milk suppliers, the production teams, the end consumer, the environment, and the business itself.
RECENT RETIREMENTS
1. Ger Roche, Buttevant Store, Retail Sales Assistant, 30 years service. Back row, left to right: Matt Lawlee, Bob O Keeffe, Michelle Manning. Front row, left to right: Joe Hannan, Dermot Foley, Ger Roche, Timmy Hallahan. 2. James Canty, Macroom Area Sales Manager, 44 years service. Left to right: Denis McCarthy and James Canty.
1.
2.
3. Barry Conran Maintenance Manager Mogeely, 44 years service. Left to right: Eddie Twomey, Pat Hayes, Tim Hurley, Mike Harty, Padraig Drake, Barry Conran and David Cooney. The Society also extends its gratitude for their many years of dedicated service, and best wishes for the future to the following: • Michael Corbett, Bunratthy Stores, Retail Sales Assistant, 10 years service • Denis Cronin, Coop Stores Mallow, Goods Inwards, 28 years service • Gerard Lynes, DFI Mallow, Laboratory Technician, 43 years service
3.
4
JANUARY 2018
OFFICIAL OPENING OF NUTRITIONALS CAMPUS, MALLOW Dairygold celebrated a significant milestone in our history with the official opening of our Nutritionals Campus in Mallow in September. We were immensely proud to celebrate the €86 million investment which has created a state of the art processing facility.
Alan O’Mahony, DFI Mallow with his children Lauren, Ava, Anthony and Cayla
The impressive facility stands as testament to the hard work and dedication of our staff, not only those who were instrumental in the planning and development phases, but all of our employees who contribute each day towards the long-standing success of our organisation. We see the Nutritionals Campus as a symbol for what Dairygold is today and where we want to be in the future – ambitious, progressive, supportive of our members, world class and wellpositioned to harness the potential of the international marketplace. We wanted to ensure that the official opening was an inclusive celebration and as part of this we held an open day on Saturday, September 16th for current and former staff as well as our neighbours in Mallow. We were truly touched to see so many familiar faces of colleagues past and present. The interest and engagement on the day was hugely heart-warming. It demonstrated that Dairygold’s most important asset and factor in its success is its people. The following week commenced with three intensive open days for Members from which the feedback on the site, tours, coordination and staff was extremely positive and complimentary.
Day Family Fun
Nutritionals Campus staff and their families were also welcomed on-site for short tours, children’s entertainment and an official blessing, which was again another wonderful occasion for all those who play a pivotal part in the site’s everyday operations and success.
Family Fu n Day
The official opening took place on Friday, 22nd of September with almost 400 stakeholders, from our board and committee members to leading Irish politicians and our top customers, welcomed onsite for a ceremony to mark the occasion - a wonderful culmination of a weeklong series of events to celebrate the opening. Over the course of 6 days of events, we proudly welcomed over 1,600 people to the Nutritionals Campus. We’d like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to all those who contributed to the success of the opening. It was with pride and dedication that each person carried out their duties in the lead up to and during the events. The time and resources that were dedicated to the event were considerable but the return was immeasurable. Thank you to each and everyone who went above and beyond to ensure that Dairygold was represented to the highest standards that we strive for and greatly value.
Patrick Dempsey, DFI Mallow employee with his son Billy
Alice Quirke with retired employees
DFI Mallow employees, 21st of September 2017
Tomas O’Cleirigh and Maurice Crowley with retired employees
5
DAIRYGOLD CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY LIMITED
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION RETAIL EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION AWARDS
RETAIL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME 2017-2018
We are delighted to announce the winner of the Co-Op SuperStores Employee Recognition Awards Quarter 3-2017.
rthy Raheen Co-Op Left to right: Robert McCarthy, Francis McCa Superstores and Therese Enright
AGRI BI-ANNUAL RECOGNITION AWARD We were delighted to announce our Beef & Tillage Team as the winners of our Agri Bi-Annual Recognition Awards for November 2017.
Back row, left to right: David Bracken, Andrew Hedderman, Luke Forde, Bernadette Bennis, Ger McCarthy, Michelle Manning, Hazel McCarthy, Cathal Mansell, Amy Kelly, Gerard O’Brien, Con Berkery. Front row, left to right: Derek Burke, Patrick Creedon.
On Tuesday 12th September 2017, we launched our third Dairygold Retail Development Programme. Following two successful Dairygold Retail Development Programmes, that led to 21 participants developing their management skills, thirteen employees across the Retail Business will now embark on a nine month programme consisting of six modules, learning the necessary skills of a modern Retail Manager. We are delighted to be partnering with the Irish Institute of Training and Development and ICOS on this programme again this year and we wish our employees lots of success in the programme.
Left to right: Sean O’Sullivan, Niall Griffey, Liam Leahy, Michael English, Frank Hayes, Matt Lawlee, Mary Dea ne and Seamus O’Mahony.
THE MUNSTER MATHS & SCIENCE FAMILY FAIR
Left to right: Susan Casey, Frances Eleanor Fitzgibbon
Nash,
On Sunday the 15th of October, members of the Dairygold Quality Feeds Laboratory team attended the annual Munster Maths & Science Family Fair held in the GAA Complex at Carrigoon Mallow. The fair was established as an extension of the Mallow Maths & Science Schools Initiative 7 years ago to connect local schools with the community through Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (TEM). At the Dairygold stand, the experienced Dairygold Quality Feeds team showcased our wide range of food inputs in raw and finished form, explaining to the attendees the process in between. The team also completed interactive experiments and ran a science quiz with the aim of exhibiting how Dairygold uses ‘maths and science’ in its production and research. The fair was again a resounding success with almost 4,500 visitors attending on the day.
Neil McDonnell, Rathd uff, winner of the Dairygold Science Qu iz
6
JANUARY 2018
CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS
Left to right: Conor Galvin, Deirdre O’Brien, Anil Babu Yarlagadda, Haiyan Yu, Kate O’Callaghen, Lisa McAuliffe, Frank Butler, Jennifer Bryan, Kieran Evans, Tom Kiely, Anna Moynihan.
Left to right: Ivan Jirkuv, Aisling Corcoran, Claire Dunne, Agnese Vilcane, Jimmy Barrett, Laura Fitzgerald, Aindreas Lucey, Lillian Roche, Daire McKiernan, Carmel Morrison.
Left to right: Keerti Krishnan Murphy, Mary Barry, Mary Ryan, Eugene O’Connor, Marie Carey, Marianne O’Donnell, Christine Kelleher, Barbara Lehane, Donal Creedon, Fionnuala Dore.
Left to right: Breda Desmond,Pauline Ayres, Maurice O’Donovan, Lauren Smith, Denise Carey, Dean Kennedy, Lisa Cotter, Deirdre Watkins, Daire McKiernan, Marion Boudin, Katie McSweeney. Front Row: Brian O’Regan.
Breda Desmond, Mark Keller
Mark Keller, Chloe
Left to right: Micheal Hanrahan, Liam Cronin, Patrick Walsh, Eddie Hayes, Mary Deane, Amie Coonan, Kevin McSweeney, Ryan Ashman, Shane Cotter.
Left to right: Philip Ducie, Caroline Browne, Amanda Peters, Gwen McAuliffe, Genevieve McManagan, Lucia Hallahan, Norma Howard, Emma Moore, Elaine O’Connell, Ailish Fox, Jimmy Barrett.
Dunne
7
DAIRYGOLD CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY LIMITED
CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS
Back row, left to right: Paul O’Connell, Aoife Herlihy, Maureen Cunningham, David O’Keeffe, Ailish Walsh, Mark Keller. Front row, left to right: Ciara White, Alice Quirke, Adrian Beatty;,Deirdre Wall, Niamh Healy.
Left to right: Christine O’Brien, Grace Curran, John Morrissey, Eanna Heffernan, Melissa O’Brien, Niall O’Sullivan, Seamus O’Mahony, Joe Horgan, Patrick Dennehy, Kevin Foley.
Left to right: Gerry O’Sullivan, John O’Carroll, Deirdre O’Leary, Carolyn Howard, Sinead Gillen, Michael Harte, Aoibhinn Twomey, Valerie Woodcock, Jim Woulfe, Eamonn Looney.
Left to right: Karen Condon, Douglas Kidd, Terry O’Donovan, Joanne McCann, Margaret Buckley, Mick Leahy, Margaret Rohan, Declan O’Keeffe, Siobhan Curtin, Ger Hayes, Deborah Harrington.
Back row, left to right: Kate O’Brien, Angela Donagh, Anne-Marie Twomey, Doris Pu, Josephine O’Dwyer, Aoife Bardsley, Becky Kelly, Chloe Dunne. Front row, left to right: Denis O’Leary, Kieran Morrisson, David Cooney.
Left to right: Carmel Morrisson, Mark Keller.
Left to right: William Newman, Michael Claffey, Johnny Sweeney, Shane O’Donnell, Andrea Biticiua, Michael Coote, Grace Hurley, Mary Finn, Billy Cronin, Karina Downey.
Back row, left to right: Chris Hartnett, John Murphy, Anne Marie O’Grady, Declan Geary, Front row: Paul Kenny, Castlefarm.
8
JANUARY 2018
DAIRYGOLD RAISES VITAL FUNDS FOR THE IRISH CANCER SOCIETY #WRAPITPINK Munster’s farmers, together with Dairygold in 2017 contributed €17,500 to the Irish Cancer Society through Wrap It Pink which saw farmers across rural Ireland wrap their silage in pink for the third year running. Dairygold has raised almost €50,000 for the Irish Cancer Society since Wrap It Pink was launched in 2015. This Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative has the twofold objective of raising awareness of breast cancer across rural Ireland as well as raising much needed funds for a very worthy charity. Dairygold’s farmer customers embraced the campaign with open arms and pink bales in fields are a familiar sight in Ireland’s landscape as well as a reminder of the importance of breast check screening among women.
Pink Tea Party at Dairygold West End Mallow in Support of Irish Cancer Society Breast Cancer Awareness Month Left to right: Peter O’Driscoll, Fergus Holohan, John Cooney, Elaine Hayes, Shane Cotter, Seamus O’Mahoney, Niall O’Sullivan, Therese Enright, Lucia Hallahan, Liam Cronin, Denise Jones, Niall Griffey, Gillian Foley, Michael Lehane, Dermot Foley, John O’Carroll, Brian Taylor, Mary Deane, Joe Horgan, Orla Fitzgerald, Rebecca O’Sullivan, Susan Morgan, Grace Curran, Caroline Browne, Sean O’Sullivan.
Such was the innovation and effectiveness of the Dairygold-led initiative, that many other commercial organisations also embraced pink wrap to raise awareness of breast cancer and raising funds for the vital cancer research and support services. Co-Ops contribute a donation for each pink bale that is purchased. Commenting on the campaign, John O’ Carroll, Head of Retail at Dairygold said “We’re delighted that Wrap It Pink had another successful year with almost €50,000 in total contributed to the Irish Cancer Society since we launched the initiative. As Pink Partners of the Irish Cancer Society, we’re proud to play our part in raising awareness of breast cancer among our farmer members and the wider rural community and we’d like to thank our farmer customers who came on board to support the campaign again this year”. Mark Mellett, Head of Fundraising at the Irish Cancer Society said, “Wrap It Pink plays a vital role in raising awareness of breast cancer in rural Ireland and also funding vital cancer research and services to support those affected by the disease. Every year in Ireland over 2,800 women are diagnosed with breast cancer. We are there to support them on their cancer journey every step of the way, but we can’t do this without your support. We’re very grateful to farmers nationwide for backing this campaign and we look forward to continuing our partnership with Dairygold into the future.”
Left to right: John O’Carroll, Gillian Foley, James Lynch, Dairygold, John & Mary Hally Tipperary Farmers & Mark Mellett, Irish Cancer Society,
SPORTS QUIZ
Thank you to everyone who entered the sports quiz in the last issue of GoldLink. All names with the correct answers were put into the draw & congratulations to the lucky winners listed below. 1. Liam O’Donoghue, Castlefarm €50 CO-OP SUPERSTORES VOUCHER
NEW ARRIVALS Congratulations to their proud parents!
Conor - Son of Jean Sheahan, Accounts Receivable. Born 30.11.17
Cathal - Son of Martina Bailey, Central Lab. Born 30.11.17
2. Sinead Heffernan, Mallow €30 CO-OP SUPERSTORES VOUCHER 3. Michael English, Mallow DFI €20 CO-OP SUPERSTORES VOUCHER
thy, of Aileen McCar Kate - Daughter rn 18.10.17 Central Lab. Bo
Aaron - Son of Niamh O’Connell, Accounts Receivable. Born 02.10.17
rris, IT Daniel - Son of Mick No 17 09. 06. n Bor
Department.
ell, r of Shane O’Donn Eabha - Daughte rn 23.06.17 Supply Chain. Bo