A growth demand for poultry feed in the north of England has resulted in a substantial investment in new feed production facilities and equipment by specialist manufacturers, ABN.
The company, which is part of AB Agri, has recently re-opened a feed mill near Penrith to improve its “geographic footprint” in the region in keeping with rising demand from both new and existing customers.
“Poultry production is growing in the north of England, with our existing customers expanding their businesses and also with new entrants joining the sector,” said ABN business unit director, Kevin Sketcher.
As a result, the business recently brought Langwathby mill, near Penrith, into operation after a major investment programme. The plant had previously been lying idle.
“This has been a very gradual process for us,” said Mr Sketcher. “We started with a blank canvas, meaning we had the opportunity to invest in the latest technology and state of the art equipment. As the equipment had never produced feed before, we were very diligent and careful in the initial stages of production.”
A number of different diets were extensively sampled, tested and analysed to make sure nutritional composition was as expected. In addition, farm customers were supplied from the new mill according to a gradual build-up spread over a three-month period. This was to ensure each process in the mill could cope with the increasing volume, while maintaining the quality specification ABN required.
“The mill is currently running at the anticipated production level with scope for future growth, which means that we can react to industry expansion,” said Mr Sketcher.
“We are grateful to our partner customers for their co-operation throughout the process, which marks a significant development in our business that we hope we can learn from, potentially also rolling out some of the new technology to our other existing mills.”
