Works have commenced on Boortmalt’s Athy facility to extend its malting capacity by 30,000t.

Boortmalt is Ireland’s largest maltster and is the fifth largest in the world producing 1.1mt annually. The news was marked with a site visit by Minister Andrew Doyle and local public representatives.

The new facilities at The Maltings in Athy will include new steeping, germination and kilning vessels, as well as additional malt outloading facilities, and is expected to be operational by January 2020.

Increased intake in malting barley

Since 2018, the company has been seeking to expand its malting barley intake by up to 50,000t and has met with farmers in counties Louth, Meath, Westmeath, Galway, Donegal and Cork, in a bid to increase its existing base of 670 growers. In Donegal, for example, over 800 acres of malting barley has been planted this year.

Plans

Figure 1 shows the layout of the existing Athy facility.

Figure 1 shows the layout of the existing Athy facility.

Figure 2 shows the plans for the additional infrastructure planned at the Athy facility.

Figure 2 shows the plans for the additional infrastructure planned at the Athy facility.

Profitability

Speaking about the expansion, Peter Nallen, group operations officer at Boortmalt, said: “Our ambition at Boortmalt, in conjunction with Teagasc, is to make malting barley the number one most profitable cereal in Ireland.”

He continued: “This development at The Maltings in Athy will support malting barley growers for future generations to produce fully traceable Irish grain to the highest standards for all our distilling and brewing customers in Ireland.”

Equipment ready for installation at the Athy plant.

The Teagasc 2019 Crops Costs and Returns booklet suggested the gross margin for a 3t/ac crop of spring malting barley would be around €232/ac (€180/t including straw at €101/ac).

This is significantly higher than spring feed barley at the same yield (€160/ac at a value of €160/tonne) but is lower than a 4t/ac crop of winter barley (€255/ac at a value of €160/t) and a 4.4t/ac crop of winter wheat (€296/ac at €170/t).

However, feed grain prices are €15/t to 20/t lower today when compared to when these initial projections were first released, meaning that spring malting barley now stands to become one of the most profitable crops this year.

Irish supply chain

Boortmalt COO Peter Nallen with Minister Andrew Doyle.

Nallen explained the value of value of the company’s SAI accredited supply chain. “We have proudly created a fully integrated world class (SAI-accredited) supply chain for the production of local Irish malting barley, producing Irish malt and supplying Irish breweries and distilleries,” he said.

“We look forward to the expansion and with the ongoing support of our Irish customers we intend to continue to support Irish farming and, in particular, our malting barley growers in Ireland,” he added.

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Boortmalt seeks extra 50,000t of malting barley

Boortmalt to extend malting capacity at Athy plant