Dawn Farm Foods Wins Export Award

04 Dec 2013 --- Dawn Farm Foods has won the Irish Exporters Association ‘Sustainable Exporter of the Year’ award at a ceremony in Dublin. The award recognises the work Dawn Farms has undertaken as part of Origin Green, Ireland’s sustainability programme for the food and drink industry, the first of its kind in the world. Dawn Farms was one of the original pilot companies of the programme.

It also reinforces Dawn Farms’ international standing as a major supplier of cooked and fermented meat ingredients throughout Europe, coming 12 months after the company won the Food and Drink ‘Exporter of the Year’ Award at the 2012 Export Industry Awards.

Larry Murrin, Dawn Farms’ Chief Executive said: “We are delighted to win this award, as it recognises companies which have excelled in re-shaping their businesses into sustainable role models for others starting on the road to sustainable production.
 
“It is a great achievement for our dedicated Origin Green team, which has been in place for the last 12 months and has devised and implemented a sustainability programme covering the environment, health and nutrition, food safety and ethical sourcing, the workplace and community.
 
“Sustainability is rapidly becoming one of the major purchasing criteria for the food industry and provides great potential for future commercial opportunities for the company. Origin Green is an initiative that everyone across the business can get behind, bringing to life the message that Dawn Farms is about our people, our expertise, our ethics and the added value solutions we provide, as well as the high quality consistent products we supply to a great customer base.”
 
Dawn Farms was also commended in the innovation category, the only company to be nominated in two separate categories at the Irish Exporters Association awards.
 
The company supplies a wide range of blue chip customers in the food manufacturing and foodservice sectors throughout Europe for the pizza, sandwich and ready meals markets.
 
It exports 80% of its output to 30 countries from its factories in Naas, Co. Kildare, regarded as one of the most modern meat technology operations in the European Union.
 
Mr. Murrin said: “We are heavily export-focussed and pride ourselves on growth through long-term investment and strategic alignment with highly-rated international brands.
 
“In addition, we attach great importance to tracking and predicting consumer trends in the market place and are continually looking to bring new solutions to our customers.”
 
Speaking at the Awards, Colin Lawlor, President of the Irish Exporters Association, said that Irish exporters remain upbeat about export growth and that some 80% of exporters expect to increase their overseas sales during 2014.
 
The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Eamon Gilmore T.D., commended Ireland’s exporting companies and highlighted their importance to the health of the economy.
 
“Despite the international market challenges faced by exporters in recent years, total exports in 2012 reached a historic high of €182 billion – some 16 per cent higher than their pre-crisis levels in 2007,” he said. “The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and our Embassy network are central to these efforts as we work closely with the State agencies to build Ireland’s reputation, to attract inward investment and tourism and to help Irish companies to expand their export reach.”