The FPMC has awarded the company £4 million (m), which will be put towards the £17m facility in Thainstone Business Park in Aberdeenshire.
Plans for the facility were first unveiled in October 2017, with construction earmarked to begin in April of this year and for the site to be fully operational by April 2019. The new plant is expected to have the latest environmental waste treatments and transport systems.
Scotbeef is moving to the business park in order to “secure employment for the workforce, secure markets for producers and reduce livestock movements through Inverurie town centre, while allowing the existing premises to be developed for residential use”, according to development director Uel Morton.
During a visit to the Scotbeef facility in Inverurie, rural economy secretary Fergus Ewing announced the grant.
Ewing said: “Scotland’s food and drink is internationally renowned and continues to be a standout sector within our economy. The industry is worth around £14 billion to our economy each year, accounting for a fifth of manufacturing jobs. There are around 18,850 food and drink businesses in Scotland, employing approximately 115,400 people.
“This award will allow Scotbeef to move to new state-of-the art premises on the outskirts of Inverurie – safeguarding jobs and allowing the company to continue to offer a vital service to Scotland’s livestock producers but particularly those in the north east. Today’s £4m announcement demonstrates our continued commitment to helping food and drink companies, large and small, take their businesses to the next level while building on our reputation as a land of food and drink.”
Robbie Galloway, managing director of Scotbeef, said: “We are delighted that the Scottish Government has agreed to support us in the construction of our new abattoir at Thainstone Business Park in Inverurie.
“As a fourth-generation family company, with quality Scottish meat products at its heart, we are extremely pleased that this exciting development will secure the future of meat processing in the north east of Scotland for many years to come, providing security for the farmer producers who supply us and for our skilled local workforce.”