- SILVER HILL ANNOUNCES OUTPUT HAS DOUBLED SINCE 2011
- 52 NEW JOBS ALREADY CREATED
- COMPANY FORECASTS GROWTH TO DOUBLE AGAIN OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS
A new Centre of Excellence was unveiled today by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed for Silver Hill Foods in Emyvale, Co. Monaghan. Honoured guest Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Heather Humphreys also attended today’s opening of the impressive 1,700 square metre facility, which represents a €3 million investment.
Founded in 1962 by Ronnie and Lyla Steele, Silver Hill Foods has achieved tremendous success in recent years, in both domestic and overseas markets. This increased growth is due, in large part, to the enlightened decision made by Stuart Steele to recruit a professional management team to assist them in growing the already hugely popular brand. The Monaghan-based company is now reaping the rewards of this decision, more than doubling production in the last five years from 36,000 ducks per week to 82,500 per week.
Marked success has already been achieved amongst Asian customers due to the superior roasting qualities of the Silver Hill duck. The duck, which is processed by hand, had already become the pre-eminent product in London’s Chinatown. It now also commands a premium price in Singapore, where chefs have christened Silver Hill’s unique breed of duck ‘The Mother of All Duck’. Currently exporting 5,000 duck per week across more than 20 high-end restaurants in Singapore, Silver Hill aims to utilize its new state-of-the-art facilities to facilitate further expansion into the South East Asian market.
Speaking at the opening of Silver Hill Foods’ new Centre of Excellence, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed, TD said: “I am delighted to be here today at the opening of the Silver Hill Centre of Excellence. The development of this centre is another important milestone in the growth of the Irish food industry, which is Ireland’s largest indigenous manufacturing sector. The Government through my Department, Bord Bia and Enterprise Ireland, is delighted to have played an important role in supporting the growth and development of Silver Hill which is one of the stars of Ireland’s growing agri-food sector. The Poultry sector is one of a number of important sectors that will play a part in Ireland’s economic recovery and has set itself ambitious targets in the national “Food Wise 2025” strategy. Innovative approaches such as we see here today from Silver Hill will be key to the realisation of these growth targets”.
Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Heather Humphreys TD added: “The agri-food sector is an important source of jobs and economic activity in Cavan and Monaghan and Silver Hill’s success is good for the region, as it is a significant local employer. The company’s plans to expand into new markets in Asia show that Silver Hill Foods is a company with growing global ambition. Indeed, the company’s growth over the last five years has been extremely impressive. I would like to pay tribute to the Steele family for their incredible vision for the company and to compliment the team under Micheál Briody for their outstanding performance, and I wish them every success with their expansion for the future”.
Silver Hill CEO, Micheál Briody explained: “We are the producer of the best duck in the world and this is based on the feedback from our customers. The success and reputation of our branded duck in Ireland, the UK and Singapore is stimulating further sales leads in new overseas markets across Asia.
“The new facility will allow us to meet further demand in Asian markets and expand into new markets such as Hong Kong, Vietnam and Indonesia. To ensure we meet demand, we have set ourselves the ambitious target of increasing the number duck processed per week from 82,500 – 150,000 in the next five years. This will be a further stepping stone to achieving the company’s overall mission to supply quality duck and duck products to outlets across the world.”
“Today’s opening marks an exciting new chapter for the company. We have achieved substantial growth in recent years and will now embark on a further expansion plan, aiming to double production once again. I wish to take this opportunity to thank Minister Creed and Minister Humphreys for attending today’s event. I also wish to extend my thanks to Enterprise Ireland, The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and Bord Bia, all of whom have been very supportive of our growth strategy.”
Silver Hill, which manages all areas of production from hatching, processing, cooking and packaging, has reported significant progress through expansion into new overseas markets. The 70% export led company currently supplies 24 countries, including Holland, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, UAE and Singapore. This increase in performance has prompted the creation of 52 new jobs since 2013 and the addition of 21 contract growers across 8 countries, both north and south of the border. Whilst continued focus on the domestic retail market, which has quadrupled in Ireland in recent years, has cemented Silver Hill as the fastest growing product in the poultry category in Ireland and the UK.
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