Ireland-based dairy and sports nutrition group Glanbia is to invest in research and development in its home market.

A planning application has been lodged to expand its existing R&D facilities at Ballyragget, County Kilkenny.

The expansion will involve a two-storey extension to include a pilot plant, laboratories and storage.

In a statement sent to just-food, Glanbia said: “The planned extension will allow our newly expanded R&D team to deliver more innovative value-added products for the global marketplace.” 

The application says the extension and alterations to the existing R&D facility will provide a “controlled and hygienic environment for product testing and development”.

The company has not revealed how much it will be spending on the project.

But it added: “Glanbia Ireland has invested EUR343m (US$373.5m) in processing facilities in recent years to deliver value and produce new products from our milk pool which has grown by over 1 billion litres since 2014.”

Glanbia’s products are exported to customers in more than 70 countries. The company has 11 processing plants.