Retail wins drive Dunbia’s Lynch Quality Meats purchase
The deal takes the firm’s total number of production sites to 13 across the UK and Ireland, employing more than 4,000 people.
The decision for additional investment in Scotland came after the company won sole supply status for Scottish beef, pork and lamb to Sainsbury and The Co-operative, Dunbia claimed.
“It was the next important strategic step for Dunbia,” according to sales director Michael Doran.
‘Strengthen our position’
"With facilities in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, we needed to strengthen our position further in Scotland to meet customer needs and provide the same level of service we do in other regions to all our stakeholders.
“We have excellent long-term business relationships with Sainsbury and The Co-operative, and their recent commitment to source their complete Scottish red meat range from Dunbia highlights that the business model we use in other regions is working to the benefit of all supply chain partners; success we plan to mirror in Scotland.”
Dunbia has experienced significant growth within the past two years. The purchase of two additional pork facilities in Crewe (formerly Heathfield Foods) and Mansfield (formerly G Woods & Sons) strengthened the company’s pork division, increasing its capacity to source and produce British pork.
Long-term deal
In addition, it secured a long-term deal last year to supply Sainsbury with fresh beef from a new site in Felinfach Wales, located 10 miles from Dunbia’s lamb facility in Llanybydder.
The Llanybydder plant underwent a £12M redevelopment in 2012, creating many business and logistic synergies between it and Felinfach and bringing more than 200 jobs to the area.
In 2013 Dunbia was also awarded sole supply status for lamb with Asda making it the UK’s largest lamb processor, it claimed, operating a network of procurement officers sourcing from more than 8,000 producers.
