Today sees the birth of a new Co-operative in the Diary and Agri Trading sector as Arrabawn Tipperary Co-Operative Society is formally established by the merger of Arrabawn headquartered in Nenagh and Tipperary Co-Op based in Tipperary town. CEO of the new entity Conor Ryan, from Cappawhite, describes the event as “a pivotal day for dairying across the entire catchment, from the west to the south-east of Ireland.
The society, which has a combined history of over 200 years in dairying, will be owned and controlled by over 4,800 members. More than 1,400 farmers across 16 counties, will supply 750 million litres of milk annually with projected annual turnover of in excess of €700 million.
The inaugural board meeting saw the appointment of a founding Chairman, board members and executive. Kilcommon, county Tipperary farmer Edward Carr was appointed inaugural Chair of the Co-op, with outgoing Arrabawn CEO Conor Ryan appointed as CEO. Other appointments included Killimor, county Galway farmer Barry Donnelly as Vice-Chairperson and Billy Walsh, Toomevara to the role of Company Secretary. Kevin Murray from Templederry and Eoin Doorley from Birr were also appointed to the new board’s management committee.
The new co-op will include
- Two primary ingredient manufacturing facilities at Nenagh and Tipperary, processing almost 900 million litres of milk products annually
- 15 agri trading stores, including flagship facilities at Nenagh, Tipperary Town and Athenry.
- One of Ireland’s leading feed brands, Dan O’Connor Feeds
- French based cheese production facility, Tippagral
The diverse portfolio of revenue streams is expected to help make the new entity more resilient in fluctuating markets.
