Trouw Nutrition Closes Belfast Feed Manufacturing Plant, Introduces New Ireland Operating Model

Trouw Nutrition has ended production at its Belfast premix manufacturing facility, completing a restructuring of its Irish operations that shifts product manufacturing to its wider European network while retaining local commercial and technical capabilities.

The facility at Ship Street, Belfast, ceased production and closed permanently on September 30, 2026. The closure resulted in approximately 29 job losses, primarily in production roles. The company had announced the plan in May following a review of its core business functions and operating structure across the island of Ireland.

Trouw Nutrition, a Nutreco business headquartered in the Netherlands, said the change is focused on manufacturing rather than a withdrawal from the Irish market. Its commercial, sales, technical-support and customer-service teams will continue operating from its Belfast headquarters at Clarendon Dock. The company has described the revised structure as a new operational and delivery model intended to strengthen competitiveness, service efficiency and responsiveness to feed-industry traceability and compliance requirements.

Under the revised supply arrangement, Irish customers will receive products manufactured at Trouw Nutrition facilities in Great Britain and elsewhere in Europe. The company will also continue its established partnership with North Down Grain in Newtownards to support local supply in Northern Ireland. This shifts the Irish market from local premix production at Belfast to a more distributed manufacturing and delivery network.

The restructuring illustrates how animal-nutrition companies are balancing regional manufacturing footprints against service coverage, production efficiency and regulatory requirements. For feed manufacturers and livestock producers, the key operational questions will be continuity of supply, lead times, product consistency and the ability to respond to changing nutritional requirements.

Trouw Nutrition has reaffirmed its commitment to the island of Ireland, but the closure marks a tangible change in its local manufacturing presence. The effectiveness of the new model will ultimately depend on how reliably the wider network can support customers while preserving the technical and commercial relationships maintained by the Belfast team.