Irish Dairy Board the Main Winner at Irish Exporters’ Award

According to IDB chief executive Kevin Lane, Ireland is ideally poised to become a global dairy power with the ending of milk quotas in 2015.

29 Nov 2010 --- The Irish Dairy Board (IDB) has been presented with the overall Exporter of the Year Award for its performance in export markets with its iconic brand, Kerrygold.The Irish Dairy Board was revealed as the overall winner at last night’s Irish Exporters Association Export Industry Awards.

The board exported more than €780m worth of products to 90 countries. It is the single largest exporter of Irish dairy products, accounting for 60pc of all Irish dairy exports.

The association said Kerrygold is a premium international brand that is recognised throughout the world.

Earlier in the evening, the Irish Dairy Board also won the Food and Drink Exporter Award.

According to IDB chief executive Kevin Lane, Ireland is ideally poised to become a global dairy power with the ending of milk quotas in 2015.

Mr Lane said: "The ending of milk quotas in 2015 offers exciting opportunities for Ireland’s dairy sector to put its undoubted commercial strengths and advantages against those of its international competitors. We are on an exciting journey and this award recognises our contribution thus far.

"This award is in recognition of the excellent work being carried out by our 3,000 plus employees around the world and we are deeply appreciative of this honour. The Agri Food sector represents half of Ireland’s indigenously generated exports and in 2009 accounted for €7 billion worth of export business.

"Despite today’s economic challenges, Irish food exports grew 8% in the first five months of 2010 to almost €3 billion, and the outlook for the remainder of the year is even more positive. The industry, typified by the IDB’s Kerrygold brand which is now marketed to over 50 countries, is entering a fantastic new period of growth and opportunity. The IDB is committed to building on Ireland’s green image and the environmental sustainability of our natural dairy production system."

Mr Lane said that the award reflects the impressive performance not only of the iconic Kerrygold brand on export markets, but also the extensive range of cheese and milk powders exported by the group.

Mark Fitzgerald, president of the Irish Exporters Association, told the audience that Irish exporters are bucking the trend of retrenchment and contraction during the current economic downturn.

Congratulating all exporters, he said, “They are proving that with the right strategy and vision that growth can still be achieved.”

Emerging Exporter Award 2010,sponsored by the County and City Enterprise Boards, recognises exceptional performance by small Irish businesses in developing export activity.
The winner was whiskey and liqueur distributor, Hot Irishman Ltd.

Multinational Exporter Award 2010, sponsored by IDA Ireland, recognises the exceptional performance of multinational companies in contributing to Ireland’s impressive export performance.
The winner was medical device manufacturer Boston Scientific Ireland Ltd.

Life Sciences Ireland Exporter Industry Award 2010, sponsored by Kuehne & Nagel,recognises the achievements of companies in the pharmaceutical, medical devices and allied sectors.
The winner was Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics Manufacturing Ltd. which exported to 48 different countries.

Manufacturing Exporter Award 2010,sponsored by Enterprise Ireland, recognises the achievements of manufacturing companies in securing and building new export markets.
The winner was Trustwater for its innovative cleaning and sanitising product selling in Europe, China and North and South America.

Seafood Exporter Award 2010, sponsored by Bord Biá, recognises companies in the seafood sector that have made significant progress in securing and building export markets for Irish seafood.
The winner was Marine Harvest an indigenous fully-integrated salmon breeding, farming and processing operation exporting its premium products in Europe and North America. 

Irish Food and Drink Export Award 2010, sponsored by Bord Biá, recognises achievements in the food and drink sectors. The winner was the Irish Dairy Board.

Innovation Exporter Award 2010,sponsored by KPMG, recognises companies that have made a significant innovative contribution to exporting as a result of a new technology, product or service, or a new use for an existing product. The winner was Glanbia – Dairy Ingredients Ltd. for its success in developing and marketing Solmiko, a range of spray dried milk protein concentrates which is manufactured using fresh ultrafiltered skim milk.