ForFarmers continues rationalization process, another UK mill transfer
It wants to do this by modernizing existing mills and shutting down others.
The proposal, announced today, is to shift the feed volume that is currently manufactured by the Crewe mill to company facilities in nearby Newcastle under Lyme, Selby and Preston, where sufficient production and logistics capacity exists, said ForFarmers. The rationale behind the transfer is that it will “improve overall network utilization and allow optimization of overall supply costs.”
The proposed closure of the Crewe site is subject to the required consultation with employees, a process that has just got underway, said the feed manufacturer.
“This consultation will include employees at the Newcastle under Lyme site, due to possible changes in its operating structure.”
ForFarmers said the proposed transfer plans would result in 23 redundancies.
It currently operates 14 manufacturing sites, including both production and blending mills, in the UK. No decision has been taken yet on the future of the mill in Crewe, it added.
In the second quarter of 2019, ForFarmers also closed a feed mill site in Blandford, Dorset, with the loss of 30 jobs.
Rationalization actions in the Netherlands
In terms of restructuring in the Netherlands, in June the company reported that it was transferring feed production from its mill in Helmond in to another mill in Almelo, Deventer, in the Netherlands, but also to a plant in Rees in Germany. The transfer will take effect from Q4 2019.
In May, ForFarmers announced that it would transfer the production activities of Van Gorp Biologische Voeders, which currently take place in Schalkwijk, to the manufacturing facility of Reudink in Lochem.
Reudink, an entity within the ForFarmers group and active in organic feed, acquired Van Gorp Bio in October last year.
