March 7, 2012

 

Morrisons will supply own stores with fresh fish

 

 

Morrisons has bought over the former Kwoks factory in Grimsby's Europarc business park for its own seafood processing operation.

 

Bradford-based Morrisons plans for an output of 10,000 tonnes of seafood per year. The first supplies of cod, haddock, salmon and shellfish are anticipated to leave the renovated Europarc factory for more than 450 UK supermarkets by September.

 

The new job openings will in the short term replace the nearly 180 positions lost when Kwoks shut down the factory in 2009. Numerous more jobs will be secured or enhanced around town as the company looks to Grimsby Fish Market to buy supplies, make use of cold storage facilities and do business with logistics, packaging and engineering providers.

 

"Grimsby has been through tough times, but this news from Morrisons is a real vote of confidence in the economic future of the area," stated Minister for Cities Greg Clark MP, BBC News reports. "This investment reinforces Grimsby's position as the heart of a vital cluster for the food processing industry, and will create valuable growth and jobs."

 

Managing Director of Morrisons' seafood division Howard Sims said the idea to take over a new plant was born three or four years ago. He and Rob Smith, the head of operations, think of Grimsby as the ideal town in which to undertake a seafood start-up venture, the Grimsby Telegraph reports.

 

"Grimsby has always been a strong food processing area, specialising in seafood, so if you are going to do a start-up, which we have a relatively unique opportunity to do, then this is the choice you would make when it comes to where," Sims said. "The expertise is here, the skills are here, and when it comes to all the sourcing that we are going to do, the fish will come into Immingham down the road. It is ideal."

 

The focus will be on quality, Smith said, whether the fish originates from Norway, Iceland, Holland or the local market.

 

"Quality is going to be the banner for us. This site, the team, is going to be geared up to source the freshest, the best, fish," he commented.

 

"We are going to be working closely with vessels and markets throughout Europe and the world to get fish that has just been landed across here as quickly as possible," Smith added.

 

Morrisons will thus become the only major food seller to source fish direct from the dock and process it for sale across England, according to reports.

 

A second phase of the start-up's development could bring more jobs. Frozen seafood and value-added enhancements such as breading, coating or sauces, could materialize in 12 months in a new project.