Cork co-op Dairygold has agreed to buy back a baby milk powder manufacturing plant from Numico. Dairygold sold the Macroom plant to the Dutch group in 1994. Barry Roche, Southern Correspondent, reports.

The deal will also see Dairygold secure a 12-year contract to supply Numico with 38,000 tonnes of baby food base product a year for supply to Numico brands world wide.

No details have been given of the price paid by Dairygold for the plant but both Dairygold and Numico have assured the 69 workers that the change of ownership will not affect either staff numbers or their terms of employment.

Numico is the world's third largest baby food company and currently manufactures 27,000 tonnes of baby milk powders at the plant at Castleview, Macroom for use in its infant milk formula products such as Nutrilon, Milupa, Aptimil and Cow & Gate.

According to a Dairygold spokesman, the co-op yesterday signed a letter of intention with Numico which, subject to board approval by both sides and other regulatory approvals, will become a legal undertaking by the end of June.

Dairygold chief executive, Jerry Henchy said the 12-year contract to supply Numico with product compliments Dairygold's milk processing strategy and would underpin its existing dairy ingredients output from its Mitchelstown plant.

A Siptu spokesman for the workers at the plant said they had been given assurances by Numico that all 69 staff would transfer to Dairygold with the same pay and conditions.

Numico said the partial outsourcing of base milk powder production would enable the company to further focus its production on higher value-added ingredients and production technology while ensuring desired quality and food safety standards of the outsourced production.