Chewing The Cud
Chewing the cud with… Gerry Fogarty
Each month, we put the spotlight on a Tirlán employee and for our December newsletter, we’re talking to Gerry Fogarty
Production Planner in Consumer, Gerry Fogarty, is preparing for a marathon few weeks ahead. On top of his role which involves planning the production of UHT at the Lough Egish site in Monaghan, he’s preparing to step in and help with the pre-Christmas Avonmore Cream rush.
“I also provide cover with the milk and cream team. We normally do about 100 tonnes of cream a week. That increases ninefold over the December period. Whipped Cream has been a huge success story and ensuring we have supply to meet demand takes a massive team effort. The team in Ballitore will start packing Christmas cream around the 9th or 10th of December. That shift will run 24 hours, right up until December 24th. The 250ml and 500ml cream will be packed into cartons in the TT3 filling line in Drogheda for the first time. Normally we would have three shifts a week on this line. That increases to three shifts a day in the run-up to Christmas.
“It’s an exceptionally busy time and you really don’t get time to get bored. But like all departments in Tirlán, people come together in a massive team effort. While it’s very busy, it’s also great to be involved. You really do play to your strengths and enjoy the buzz of it all.
“Everyone plays their part. In the 10 days up to Christmas we do a huge volume of our annual sales, so it’s all shoulders to the wheel. Everyone in sales, marketing, even some of the most senior people in the cooperative, take two to three shops and they work around the clock to ensure the cream is on the shelf, not in the back store. Margins on cream are significant, so it’s a time of year that we all pull together to meet our targets and ensure the revenue comes in.”
Gerry, who lives in Navan, started out with Tirlán on a college placement in 1984. He studied Agricultural Science in WIT, which is now the South East Technological University. Like so many more, he never left the company.
“When I started here, it was Drogheda Dairies. It became Avonmore, then we merged with Waterford to become AWG. We then became Glanbia and now Tirlán. There has been lots of comings and goings since then, but it’s a fabulous place to work and you really can’t beat the team effort, particularly at this time of year.”
While Gerry has been with the company for 38 years, he has enjoyed several different roles, including working in the process area, moving on to become a shift manager, part of the central planning team in 2009 and now part of Fran Ryan’s team in Consumer Foods.
Asked if he still enjoys Avonmore Cream on Christmas day, Gerry quipped: “Absolutely. I don’t get too emotional about the Christmas build-up. Teamwork gets us through it and we make sure our customers have their Avonmore Cream – with a cherry on top if they want.”
Excellence Showcase Winners Announced
Excellence Showcase Winners Announced
The inaugural Business Excellence Showcase took place in Abbey Quarter last week, celebrating and bringing to life the richness of work taking place across Tirlán
The Business Excellence Showcase demonstrates the strong impact the application of Business, Process, Data and Utilities Excellence tools can have for our business.
From over 140 entries, 21 finalists took part in the showcase from which four winners emerged.
Congratulations to all who took part and in particular, to the winners who walked away with an Excellence Showcase trophy, certificate and a voucher for €1,500 towards a team activity of their choice.
The winners were:
- RCS Temperature Profile & Control – Vincent Cleere, Padraig McDonald, John Brennan, Patricia McGrath, Aoife O’Rourke and Stephen Walsh.
- Shikoku GNR Compliance – Conor Downey, Dave English, Amy Redfern and Nigel Allen.
- Tirlán & Baileys Sustainable Farming Academy – The team was cross-functional and led from the Tirlán side by Ann Meaney, Carol Power, Thomas Ryan and James Brennan.
- Gluten Free Oat Success with Kind Bars USA – The team was made up of Growth Ing Commercial: Teresa Kelly, Tom Finlay. Portlaoise Oatsmill Production: Diarmuid Doran, Andy Wilkinson. Grains Quality: Deirdre Carolan, Eileen O’Donnell, Niamh McGrath, Marie O’ Toole. Agri Grains: Donal Moloney. Finance: Shauna Deane. Customer Services: Helen McCabe. Logistics: Connie Murphy. Legal: Erika Murphy and the Plant Hub Team: Ann Meaney, Avril Collins, Garry Sheehan, Yvonne Bellanti, Tommy Maher.
Details of all the final 21 projects as well as a list of the 140 entries is available here
Congratulations to the winners pictured below who received their awards from Tirlán CEO Jim Bergin.
ABOVE: Members of RCS Temperature Profile & Control team – Vincent Cleere, Aoife O’Rourke, Padraig McDonald, John Brennan and Stephen Walsh
ABOVE: Members of the Gluten Free Oat Success with Kind Bars USA team – Teresa Daly, Shauna Deane and Andy Wilkinson
ABOVE: Members of the Shikoku GNR Compliance team – Nigel Allen, Dave English and Conor Downey
ABOVE: Members of the Tirlán & Baileys Sustainable Farming Academy team – Ann Meaney, Carol Power, Michael Hassett and James Brennan.
Speaking after the Showcase, one of the chief organisers of the event and GPS Specialist Brooke Blair told Overherd at Tirlán; “The Excellence Showcase is a great example of what can be achieved using a continuous improvement (CI) mindset. The event gave us a great opportunity to celebrate and acknowledge the engagement, hard work and drive of our people over the last year. An enormous amount of hard work and effort went into all entries and we wouldn’t be here in Abbey Quarter showcasing excellence without the dedication of our Tirlán teams, sites, and functions.”
Bronze for MyMilkman
MyMilkman and agency Zoo collected the Bronze Award in Best App Category at this year’s DMA’s. Pictured from L-R are Rachel Carrigan (Zoo), Colin Hetherington (Zoo), Sandra Downey,(MyMilkman Marketing Manager, Tirlan), Robert Jordan (Head of DTC Channel, Tirlán), and Mark O’Grady (Zoo)
Bronze for MyMilkman
The innovative app was recognised at this year’s Irish Digital Media Awards
MyMilkman recently picked up Bronze in the Best App Category at the Irish Digital Media Awards held in Dublin recently. Now in their 19th year, the Digital Media Awards are the most prestigious digital awards in Ireland. They recognise creativity and innovation across multiple areas including digital content creation, advertising and marketing, mobile media, social networking, app development, web design and development.
Launched to consumers in October 2021 The MyMilkman app was borne out of a shift in consumer behaviour in recent years, with smartphone usage surpassing computers and laptops. The award-winning app was recognised for its great features, such as one click log in, the ability to change/ add products to your daily order at a tap, a new product categories area, a ‘People Also Bought’ section to cross sell and upsell the wider product range, and an improved consumer sign up journey.
Initial targets of 20k downloads of the app have been exceeded and now 25% of the MyMilkman team’s customer acquisition is being generated via the app which is expected to go from strength to strength over the coming years.
Empowering Employees at Tirlán
Empowering Employees at Tirlán
Coaching leaders came together recently to celebrate their coaching journey and give insights into how the process has impacted their engagement with colleagues
Late last month, over 140 Tirlán employees gathered at the Lyrath Estate Hotel in Kilkenny to celebrate their commitment to coaching and hear from a panel of experts on why coaching is a lifelong journey. Tirlán employees, from across all areas of the business, shared their insights into the coaching process, what they have gained from it and how it’s contributing to their day to day working life.
Tirlán CEO Jim Bergin addresses the audience at the Coaching Conference in Kilkenny
Breda Fitzpatrick, HR Business Partner at Tirlán, embarked on her coaching journey in 2019. The event, she says, was a wonderful celebration of our coaching journey at Tirlán. The day itself was fantastic, energising and inspiring, allowing plenty of time to pause and reflect on how we’re turning up for ourselves and those around us.
The commitment to driving a coaching culture within all elements of the Tirlán business really shone through on the day. Throughout the event, delegates heard from a variety of speakers including Tirlán CEO Jim Bergin, who spoke very honestly about his own coaching journey and what it means for him personally. Psychologist Ian Robertson talked about the positive impact that self-care can have on an employee’s state of mind, while mental and emotional wellbeing advocate Jack Kavanagh also spoke at the event. “The standing ovation that he received at the end of his speech said it all. He spoke about the importance of creating an environment where people can learn and thrive. He also talked about how important it is to remember that you can’t do everything yourself. We all need people to lean on and to learn from and that’s a crucial aspect of coaching,” said Breda.
“The coaching journey at Tirlán has been incredible and continues to evolve. It excites me to see coaching conversations happening right across the organisation. For me, there has been a significant shift in mindset and culture moving from a command and control directive environment to a much more inclusive and collaborate one, where we communicate differently and are more aware and conscious of hearing all the voices in the room. As a HR Business Partner, I’m particularly passionate about talent development and engagement and coaching plays a pivotal role in helping people grow and develop. It drives employee engagement and helps build stronger connections and relationships. As a natural introvert and empath, I’m very much at ease in listening mode and I work really hard at building and strengthening relationships with everyone I work with. I’m delighted to see that people are actively listening more to understand rather than to respond.”
Coaching is a key enabler of bringing our new values to life at Tirlán. “I think coaching has really underlined those values and in particular our ethos – ‘to adapt to grow and empower to go’. We’re creating a workplace where people can make mistakes but also learn from those mistakes in a safe environment, which is key,” said Breda.
Catherine Kiernan, Quality Manager at Tirlán, has been on her coaching journey for just over two months. She agrees that Jack Kavanagh’s presentation was truly inspirational. “All the speakers were excellent, but you could hear a pin drop during Jack’s speech. It was very emotional and I think provided inspiration for everyone there.” Coaching has given Catherine a new perspective on how she interacts with colleagues. “I’ve learned that empowering people to find their own solutions to challenges is something that benefits everyone, including myself. Trust is also crucial; I want people to feel they can come and talk to me in a safe space, in confidence. My coaching journey has given me the tools I need to make that possible.”
Tirlán’s coaching initiative has taught delegates that listening to understand, as opposed to listening to respond, is the best way to engage with staff. With over 15 years’ experience in the food industry, Catherine believes Tirlán is setting a benchmark for how coaching is utilised in the workplace. “I haven’t seen any other organisation or company adopt coaching in the way Tirlán has. It’s pretty unique. Since completing the course, I’ve noticed that the way we communicate with each other has transformed. It’s such a positive change and I’m seeing first-hand how coaching is empowering people across the board at Tirlán.”
Watch Neuroscientist and Clinical Psychologist Professor Ian Robertson speak about the fundamentals of building confidence
Watch The inspirational Jack Kavanagh’s speak of the collective effort and resilient mindset needed to accomplish one’s ambitions
Don’t forget the cream!
Don’t forget the cream!
Nothing tops Avonmore Cream’s range of limited edition flavours this Christmas
Don’t forget the cream this Christmas! Avonmore’s festive cream range – already whipped and ready to serve – is the perfect accompaniment for all your tasty Christmas treats. Our limited-edition flavours are available in stores from early December and include Avonmore Freshly Whipped Cream, Avonmore Caramel Whipped Cream, Baileys Whipped Cream and Avonmore Brandy Whipped Cream. Already whipped and ready to serve from the fridge, nothing tops Avonmore Cream at Christmas.
This year, our Avonmore Cream will be supported via an extensive 360 marketing campaign including TV ads, VOD, OOH, Digital, social partnerships, in-store media and POS, as well as branded fridges.
Here’s a treat for you to try at home!
Baileys Tiramisu
Ingredients
- 250ml Avonmore Baileys Cream
- 125g mascarpone
- 12 savoiardi biscuits
- 300ml strong black coffee
- 125g caster sugar
- cocoa powder, to dust
Method
- Combine 150ml coffee with the caster sugar in a saucepan, bring to a simmer on a low heat and simmer 5 minutes until syrupy, leave to cool.
- Mix the Baileys cream into the mascarpone until fully incorporated.
- In the bottom of two glasses put a generous spoonful of the cream mixture.
- Soak 4 of the biscuits in the remaining coffee, layer 2 into each glass and drizzle with some of the coffee syrup, repeat the layers until the glasses are full, finishing with a cream layer.
- Chill until ready to serve.
- Dust with cocoa just before serving.
For more fabulously festive Christmas dishes, just check out www.avonmore.ie which features a wide selection of traditional starters, mains and desserts as well as treats, snacks and festive drinks.
New Kilkenny Cheese Website launched
New Kilkenny Cheese Website launched
A variety of roles are currently available at Tirlán’s new cheese factory
Work continues at pace in Belview, where Tirlán’s joint venture with Royal A-ware is building a best-in-class, sustainable continental cheese factory. The €200 million facility is on track for commissioning in 2024 and once up and running, will produce continental cheese from Irish milk for a global market.
As part of the programme of work towards the first Edam and Gouda cheeses rolling off the production line, Kilkenny Cheese Limited aims to attract top talent to work at one of the most high-tech and sustainable continental cheese production facilities in Europe. The recent launch of the new Kilkenny Cheese Limited website Kilkenny Cheese | Homepage provides prospective employees and anyone else interested, with information on the state-of-the-art facility.
Check out some of the roles currently open at KCL:
- Quality Manager
- Process Manager
- Automation Manager
- Continuous Improvement Manager
To find out more about these and other roles at Tirlán, click here.
Top Honours for Avonmore
Top honours for Avonmore
Avonmore has been awarded the most chosen dairy brand of the decade accolade
Last month, Eithne O’Hara and Steven Nicholls from the Consumer Growth team accepted Kantar’s prestigious award for ‘Ireland’s most chosen dairy brand of the decade’ at a special event held in Croke Park.
Kantar is the world’s leading data analytics and brand consulting company, which this year celebrated 10 years of its ‘Brand Footprint’ study of consumer choices in Ireland. The Brand Footprint ranking reveals how consumers today buy FMCG (Fast Moving Commercial Goods) brands, as well as highlighting the opportunities for brands to increase their footprint.
Eithne and Steven proudly hold the award for ‘Ireland’s most chosen dairy brand of the decade’
Kantar’s unique ‘Consumer Reach Points’ metric is based on the underlying drivers of sales – how many people buy and how often – which provides a true measure of brand strength.
Speaking to Overherd at Tirlán about the award win, Eithne said: “As Ireland’s leading dairy company, we were honoured to accept this award, which is testament to the continuous hard work and dedication of many people across our many production and office sites over the past 10 years. Avonmore is a much loved and highly respected Irish brand which has gone from strength to strength over the last decade due to the passion of our many cross functional teams.”
GF Integrity Guaranteed
GF Integrity Guaranteed
Tirlán’s ‘Closed Loop’ Oatsecure system delivers on gluten-free promise
Tirlán FarmLife plans to extend the amount of gluten-free oats sown over the coming year across Kildare, Laois, Carlow and into Kilkenny, South Tipperary, Meath and Dublin by as much as 1,000 acres to meet growing demand for the premium crop.
The ‘closed loop’ OatSecure™ system means gluten free integrity is achieved across every stage in our unique 14-step process. OatSecure™ encompasses the complete A-Z process, from seed assembly, land and grower selection, to sowing, crop monitoring, harvesting, drying, storage and milling.
The protocol was developed in conjunction with our selected supplier farmers who work to a strict code of practice. Tirlán agronomists select the fields where the oat crop is grown. Only the purest oat seeds are grown and all seed used is traceable.
Drills are inspected before sowing to avoid contamination. All fields are mapped and rigorously inspected throughout the growing season. Harvesting is completed using dedicated Tirlán-leased combine harvesters and transporting equipment to ensure there are no contamination risks. Sampling and testing at our grain intake is a verification of the agronomy inspections from seed selection right through to final harvest.
Donal Moloney, Tirlán FarmLife’s Grain Manager
Donal Moloney, Tirlán FarmLife’s Grain Manager, paid tribute to the company’s sales development teams, agronomists and more for their work to ensure extremely strict specifications required to deliver food-grade gluten-free produce are met.
“All harvesting and transport, potentially worth an additional €30/t on top of the premium price, is carried out by Tirlán FarmLife using dedicated gluten-free machinery. The economic returns compare very favourably. Oat crops also carry lower production costs, particularly fertiliser requirements, which would be a key consideration for 2023,” he explained.
The Tirlán Plant Hub team has been very successful in growing the food grade oat business and they’ve secured long-term contracts with international food and beverage manufacturers.
The closed loop supply chain for gluten free food grade oats is a real USP for customers. As of Harvest 2022, Tirlán’s Gluten Free Oats have a gluten guarantee of <5ppm compared to the industry standard of <20ppm. This gives customers the added assurance they desire.
There is huge potential for gluten free food grade oats, particularly in the cereals, snacks and plant-based food and beverage categories. The Tirlán Plant Hub has a strong pipeline of customers in these categories and the additional acres will go towards meeting the growing demand for this premium crop.
Showcasing Excellence at Tirlán
Showcasing Excellence at Tirlán
With 140 entries, the GPS Excellence Showcase has caught the imagination of teams across Tirlán
Celebrating the efforts of individuals and teams involved in Continuous Improvement (CI) projects, this year’s inaugural showcase competition brings to life the great continuous improvement/operational excellence work being done across our organisation.
From the 140 entries, the shortlisting panel had the difficult task of selecting three projects under each of the award categories – COVI, RCA/Problem Solving, Continuous Improvement/Process Improvement (Lean Tools), Sustainability, Customer Impact, Data Driven Decision or Innovation (MES) and Quick Win.
Will O’Carroll, Business Excellence Manager
Business Excellence Manager Will O’Carroll told Overherd that he and the shortlisting panel were delighted with the “amazing reaction” from colleagues across Tirlán. “We’ve been hugely impressed with the strength of the projects submitted – they demonstrate clarity of purpose, strong methodology, great teamwork and amazing impacts. All of these projects will be celebrated at our Excellence Showcase event but we had to make our shortlist, which I’m sure you can imagine was a difficult task. After much deliberation, we decided on our 21 finalists who will present their projects at the Showcase Event in Abbey Quarter on 1st December to be in with a chance of winning one of three €1500 vouchers for their team. Congratulations to all of you.”
Chewing the cud with… Eoin Maher
Chewing the cud with… Eoin Maher
Each month, we put the spotlight on a Tirlán employee and for our November newsletter, we’re talking to Eoin Maher
Senior Finance Business Partner, Eoin Maher, returned to work in Kilkenny recently, having completed 114km of the Camino with six others to raise funds for the Cois Nore cancer support charity in Kilkenny.
The Tipperary native, who moved to Kilkenny from abroad in 1999 to take up a financial role with our company, said the charity provided invaluable support to him and his three children when his late wife, Sinead, got her diagnosis and passed away soon after three years ago.
“I’m very glad to have done the Camino. I always wanted to do it. I saw that the Irish Hospice Foundation was doing it and signed up. Shortly after, I saw Cois Nore doing the same and decided to do it with and for a local cause.
“Cois Nore were there for us and they are there for so many families at a time when your entire world is turned upside down. I’m in particular awe of the work they do to support children touched by cancer.
“The walk was a great opportunity to support the local cause and to give something back, while also raising awareness of their work. We covered 114km over five days. I play a lot of tennis so that stood to me. The one thing I was worried about was blisters and thankfully I avoided them due to the use of plenty of Vaseline and wearing the right socks!
“Funds have been pouring in from work colleagues and the wider community and the fundraising page will stay live until November 14th if anyone still wants to contribute. I am very close to achieving my €10,000 target and I am so thankful to everyone for their generosity and support.”
Eoin’s new base is Abbey Quarter, a short distance from his home on the Freshford Road. His current role primarily involves providing financial appraisal and strategic investment support to the company. Key projects he’s worked on include Abbey Quarter, the JV in Belview with Royal A-ware and the original Belview project. He has also recently volunteered to be an ambassador for the launch of the new myCareer and myLearning phase of the new Success Factors HR system.
“It has been a busy role in recent years, particularly with the milk pool expansion and the investment required to support that. Much of the work involves providing financial support to commercial teams in the construction of business cases for potential new investments.”
He’s enjoying the return to hybrid working, particularly the new Abbey Quarter base. Previous to that, he worked in Ballyragget for 20 years before moving to Danville for a short period of time.
“There is very much a sense of excitement and new beginnings in the company. This has been accelerated by the opening of Abbey Quarter, our new structure and identity, new name, new purpose, vision and values. It all augurs very well for the future,” he said.
To donate, visit https://www.idonate.ie/fundraiser/CoisNore-EoinMaher-