Ornua has just announced the completion of a US cheese ingredients business called Whitehall Specialties Inc for an undisclosed sum.

The move will further boost Ornua’s presence in the North American cheese ingredients business.

Ornua already has two processing facilities for cheese ingredients in the US, and this move will bring another four production facilities into the Ornua stable.

Ornua North America is a leading provider of customised functional cheese solutions for US food manufacturing and food service customers.

The return to Irish farmers should be a higher Ornua value payment. The new facilities will also process casein which some Irish milk processors make.

Powerful partnership

Commenting on the announcement, Ornua CEO, John Jordan said: “Ornua Ingredients North America is a core part of the Ornua business, delivering strong growth over the last 10 years. By bringing together two market leaders, in complementary parts of the ingredients sector, we are creating a powerful partnership that builds a strong foundation for a long-term, sustainable future.

“We warmly welcome the Whitehall Specialties team and are looking forward to partnering with them as we look to our next stage of growth.

“Our combined business is centred around creating and maintaining long-term partnerships with our customers through innovation, best-in-class technical expertise and a true spirit of collaboration.”

Ornua Ingredients is responsible for the procurement of Irish and non-Irish dairy products and for the sale of dairy ingredients to food manufacturing and food service customers across the world.

Volatility

Ornua Ingredients is also responsible for managing volatility through de-risking and trading strategies.

The business is supported by production facilities in Saudi Arabia, Spain, the UK, the US and by in-market teams in Africa and the Middle East.