February 19, 2019

ForFarmers UK announces intention to close UK feed production site

ForFarmers UK has announced its intention to close its site in Blandford, the UK, in the second quarter of 2019.

The move is in line with ForFarmers UK's objective to optimise its supply chain. The feed volume that is currently manufactured by the Blandford mill will be transferred to ForFarmers' facilities in Exeter and Portbury. The closing date of the Blandford site will follow the finalisation of the required consultation process that starts this week.

ForFarmers UK operates 15 manufacturing sites (production and blending mills). In 2017, ForFarmers UK announced its objective to rationalise the supply chain both in terms of modernising existing mills and its footprint of site locations. This rationalisation is part of the previously announced GBP5 million (US$6.5 million) reduction plan.

During the process, the priority remains to maintain and improve customer satisfaction by consistently delivering good quality feed and excellent service performance, ForFarmers said. The Blandford site, one of the older ForFarmers UK sites, would require significant modifications to modernise and improve its efficiency.

In addition, ForFarmers UK now sees an opportunity to transfer feed volumes produced at the Blandford site to the newly constructed Exeter mill and the recently upgraded Portbury mill.

The current Blandford volume comprises conventional (compound) feed and organic feed. The plan is to relocate the production of conventional feed volume to the newly constructed Exeter mill and that of organic feed to Portbury, which has recently been equipped with additional raw material storage bins to support the production of organic feed.

A dedicated project team has been deployed to ensure a seamless transfer. Jointly with this relocation, ForFarmers UK is enhancing its delivery vehicle fleet to ensure that optimal quality of customer service can be maintained.

The intended closing of the Blandford site impacts approximately 30 employees, according to ForFarmers.

- ForFarmers