Tirlán (known as Glanbia Co-operative Society Limited from 1997 until 2022) is an Irish dairy co-operative. The co-operative has its roots in a series of amalgamations of small rural co-operative creamery societies throughout County Kilkenny, most notably the amalgamation of Avonmore Creameries Federation in 1966.
Prior to the full takeover of Glanbia Ireland, the primary activities of the co-operative had been managing the co-operatives investments for the benefit of its farmer-members.
History
The Village Creameries amalgamation started when the Avonmore Creameries food brand was first created in 1966, by founder Mr. Redmond Brennan. Their Co-op entity was registered as a public company in 1988, as Avonmore Food plc and later amalgamated with Waterford Food plc in 1997. It is today known as Glanbia, a nutrition company with wholly owned revenues of over €2.3 billion and 6,900 employees in 2018. Their ambition as set out in 2018, is to be a €6bn total revenue group in 2022.
The creamery became a success story that emerged from the dedication and cooperation among farmers, management, workers and the community at large. They were run by Committee. Each Creamery became a branch of Avonmore Foods plc. The Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (ICOS) played a central role in that success by unifying all the Creameries from their foundation in 1894 through advising management and committees on all aspects of Dairy Society. It was ICOS who brought farming people together in Kilkenny and surrounding counties. Despite that, many Creameries would not have survived but for far-seeing farmers who were willing to invest in the society. Some went into liquidation. Apart from milk collection, Creameries provided invaluable services to the farming communities -including butter making with on site shops but also grain drying and agricultural contract work.
In the 1960s, Avonmore sought to derive benefit from increased scale and greater diversification . Both Avonmore and Glanbia have their origins in the Irish agricultural co-operative movement that evolved over the last century, ever since first Irish Co-operative in 1889 was founded by Horace Plunkett.
The following year, the co-operative entered into a joint venture with Unigate Limited to construct the largest dairy processing facility in Europe at that time at Ballyragget, and would become Ireland's largest milk producer by the 1970s. Following the 1997 amalgamation of Avonmore and Waterford Foods plc., the co-operative and associated plc. was rebranded as Glanbia.
The Avonmore name continues to be used in a wide variety of branded products such as milk, cheese, soup and butter, and is the most purchased grocery brand in Ireland.
Between 2001 and 2004 Glanbia implemented a significant reorganisation aimed at reshaping its portfolio and providing the foundation for future growth. In 2008 they decided to vertically integrate with the acquisition of a customer, Optimum Nutrition. Glanbia went on to become a leader in the branded sports nutrition sector both in the US and internationally. Glanbia Plc now have operations in 34 countries and are exporting from Ireland to more than 100 countries worldwide. Their combined operations were ranked by revenues (in 2010 figures) in the top 100 Cooperatives, at No 98 Co-op in the world and at No 1 Co-op in Ireland, by the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA), an international organisation of co-operatives.
2012 was an important turning point in the history of Glanbia Plc as it sought to separation from its co-operative origins, Avonmore. On 29 August 2012, the company proposed to buy 60% of its Irish dairy processing business from Glanbia Ingredients Ireland, reducing its shareholding in Glanbia from 54% to 41%. Both shareholders and society members approved in November 2012, Glanbia Ingredients Ireland became a 40% associate of Glanbia. As of 2018, Glanbia Ireland, the unit spun off in 2017 from Glanbia PLC, today owns brands Avonmore and Kilmeaden, has launched a new consumer brand in the United States, Truly Grass Fed, focusing initially on the sale of cheese. Glanbia PLC owns about 40pc of Glanbia Ireland, with the original Glanbia Co-op owning the remainder of their subsidiary.
The Glanbia Collection
According to Glanbia Collections in Kilkenny Archives at St Kieran's College, Kilkenny, Avonmore Creameries Federation, the predecessor to Glanbia Co-operative Society Limited was created through the amalgamation of the following Village Creameries that are included among their archives for: