5 minute read
Update from the processing sector
Dawnfresh to close Uddingston plant
Dawnfresh Seafoods has announced plans to close its processing plant in Uddingston near Glasgow and expand its site in Arbroath in Angus on Scotland’s east coast.
Above: Raleigh Salvesen – Managing Director, Dawnfresh
DAWNFRESH is consulting with staff at the Uddingston plant, who will be offered positions in Arbroath. It is proposed that Uddingston will close in mid-2022.
Dawnfresh currently has 230 permanent production staff in Uddingston and 180 in Arbroath. There will be 150 new permanent production staff in Angus under these plans, available for permanent or agency staff in Uddingston to apply for. To support employees to make the move, Dawnfresh is offering a relocation allowance, access to local area support from Angus Council, and protection of current pay and conditions. No current jobs in Arbroath are at risk under the plans, the company said.
Dawnfresh is investing £5m in expanding the Arbroath plant, which it hopes to have fully operational by the middle of next year.
Raleigh Salvesen, Managing Director, Dawnfresh Seafoods, said: “For the remainder of this year and until the move next year, our operations at Uddingston will very much continue as normal. The plan to expand facilities at Arbroath will provide a platform for future
growth and help Dawnfresh to adapt to a changing and highly competitive business sector. This move is critical if we are to meet our objective of keeping seafood production jobs in Scotland.”
“It will be sad to close our factory in Uddingston, but we are incentivising our team to join us on this journey and hope many of our experienced and skilled staff join us in Arbroath.”
Dawnfresh is a Scottish-owned family company producing 10,000 tonnes of seafood a year for food service and retail both within the UK and internationally. As well as the two processing plants, it has a number of farm sites around Scotland.
Young’s launches seafood range for kids
Young’s seafood has teamed up with cookery author Annabel Karmel MBE to create fish-based frozen meals for youngsters.
Designed for children under five, it’s hoped the tasty and healthy meals will help to inspire the next generation to love fish while supporting the UK Government’s recommendation of eating two portions of fish a week as part of a healthy balanced lifestyle.
The range of meals strongly features salmon. since launching with The Complete Baby and Toddler Meal Planner more than 20 years ago, Karmel has written 38 books, which have sold over four million copies worldwide.
The products have been rolled out across selected Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda, and Booths stores, starting with the launch on 2 september.
The Cheesy Fish Pie is made up of Atlantic cod and salmon fillet, which are both naturally high sources of essential fatty acids, such as Omega 3.
The Fish and Chip shapes are made with Pollock, peas, carrots and mash in golden breadcrumbs.
Marina Richardson, Marketing Controller at Young’s, said: “At Young’s we are driven by a belief that a nation that enjoys fish regularly is a happier and healthier nation, and this is something we want to pass on to the next generation. We are excited to join forces with Annabel Karmel to launch dishes that will do just that.”
Ishimitsu to source BAP certified seafood
Japanese food and beverage conglomerate s. Ishimitsu & Co Ltd has committed to sourcing seafood from Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP)-certified farms and processing plants, the Global aquaculture alliance (now the Global seafood alliance) announced in august. Ishimitsu-Shoji is currently offering shrimp products with the Bap label.
“We pursue social value as well as economic value. In addition to contributing to local communities, we will utilise the technologies, wisdom and partnerships we have cultivated so far to solve social problems around the world. Expanding sales of BAP-certified products is the first step,” said Mr Shinji Minami, who works in Ishimitsu’s seafood category.
Seafood is part of the food division at Ishimitsu. The other two divisions cover coffee and tea, and export.
BAP is the world’s largest and most comprehensive third-party aquaculture certification programme.
Amber Knight THE Scottish Seafood Association, which represents the seafood processing sector in Scotland has elected Amber Knight of MacNeil Shellfish as its first Chairwoman.
Knight thanked outgoing Chairman Ryan Scatterty for his able stewardship during his tenure and said she looked forward to steering the industry through a very challenging and uncertain time. She was nonetheless optimistic, she said, that opportunities were there to be seized when they arose.
Amber Knight and her partner Michael launched MacNeil Shellfish, which sells wild, creel-caught shellfish including crab, lobster and langoustine, in 2012. MacNeil exports live crustaceans to EU and global markets, so Knight will be fully aware of the pressures of Brexit on the seafood industry.
Andrew Brown, representing Macduff Shellfish, was elected to serve as Vice-Chairman.
Mowi sells Dunkirk processing plant
SALMON producer Mowi has signed an agreement to sell its processing business at Dunkirk, in northern France. The subsidiary, formerly trading as Appé� ’Marine, will be sold to French seafood group Sofi pêche.
Appé� ’Marine specialises in the produc� on of frozen salmon and seafood speciali� es, and Mowi will con� nue to be a main supplier of salmon to Sofi pêche and the Dunkirk plant going forward.
A� er the sale of the Dunkirk plant, Mowi will focus its produc� on ac� vi� es in France on the fresh and smoked market segments, with its specialised produc� on units Mowi Boulogne (fresh) and Mowi Bretagne (smoked) plants.
In a joint statement, Mowi and Sofi pêche said: “The Dunkirk plant is specialised in the produc� on of frozen salmon and seafood speciali� es with a qualifi ed staff , which brings complementary value-added business to Sofi pêche and fi ts very well in Sofi pêche’s new constella� on.”
Fabrice Barreau, Managing Director of Mowi Western Europe, said: “We are convinced that the Dunkirk plant and its employees are in very good hands with Sofi pêche and look forward to con� nuing our rela� onship as an important salmon supplier.”
Above: Mowi’s processing plant at Dunkirk
Packing Pollock or Sealing Salmon?
GEA‘s bespoke packaging systems have got your seafood packaging needs sorted!
• Avoid the new plastic tax • Robust resistance to corrosion • Fully integratable • Process protection • Reduce change-over times
Speak to one of our experts today at fhtuk@gea.com
