Economy Minister Dr has announced a
£2.9million investment by Lisnaskea-based Ready Egg to boost
productivity and accelerate sales growth.
The company provides a wide range of high-quality egg products to
the food service and processing sectors and employs 150 people
locally.
Under the Agri-Food Investment Initiative
(AFII) (www.investni.com/support-for-business/funding-support/agri-food-investment-initiative),
Invest NI has offered Ready Egg more than £500,000 towards the
capital investment.
Speaking after a tour of the facility, Economy Minister Dr said: “This
investment marks a significant boost for rural Fermanagh and
aligns with my economic vision to create greater regional balance
and drive productivity. It will fast-track Ready Egg's
operational efficiency, improve energy usage, and support our
Green Skills Delivery goals.”
The Minister added that the investment would also create
opportunities for upskilling and workforce development, while
delivering positive ripple effects throughout Ready Egg's supply
chain: “The impact of this investment will be felt by
many small, family-owned farms across the north, reinforcing the
importance of collaboration between government and industry to
support sustainable growth.”
The company processes more than one billion eggs each year at its
plants in Lisnaskea and Chesterfield, with products including
liquid and powered egg, hard-boiled and scrambled egg and egg
mayonnaise.
It is investing in machinery such as an egg breaking plant, a
reverse osmosis plant and packaging robots to automate manual
tasks and increase operational efficiencies.
Charles Crawford, founder of Ready Egg, said: “We began egg
production in Lisnaskea in 1975 and have grown Ready Egg into the
largest egg processor in the UK and Ireland.
“This exciting investment in robotics and automation will
transform our business and improve productivity across a number
of key operational areas.
“This investment also underlines our commitment to sustainability
by increasing energy efficiency and reducing waste.”
Gráinne Moody, Director of Food and Drink at Invest NI said:
“AFII aims to close Northern Ireland's productivity gap and help
local agri-food and drink processors become more competitive.
“So far, the scheme has supported several regional businesses to
deliver major productivity projects to improve outputs and
introduce cutting-edge robotics and automation.
“We're delighted to be supporting Ready Egg's investment, which
has the potential to boost the company's productivity by up to
50%, transform its capacity and modernise its processes through
digitalisation.”
