Background
The Group's main product lines are rope-grown mussels, Pacific oysters, and King and Queen Scallops.In order to meet customers' requirements and to comply with the latest EC legislation the Group moved into a new packing and processing factory on the Motherwell Food Park at Bellshill in Lanarkshire in August 1995.
The factory was completely refurbished in 2001 when a second factory was also acquired and fitted out.
The Bellshill operation, which incorporates live shellfish holding tanks, live shellfish packing and added value production lines will ensure that the Group can offer it's customers, who include the UK's leading retailers, a consistent, reliable and regular supply of top quality product delivered by specialist chilled transport throughout the UK and Europe. The Scottish Shellfish Marketing Group Ltd is the premier sales organisation for farmed shellfish in the United Kingdom.
Its members produce shellfish of the highest quality along the entire Western seaboard of Scotland, from Kintyre in the South to the Shetland Isles in the North.
A sales and administrative office was opened at Benderloch , near Oban where it operated until the end of 1993 when it was relocated to Cairndow on Loch Fyne.
The Directors recognised the need for the Group to operate its own packing, processing and despatch facility from which to service its customers and be in a position to exercise total quality control over all farm production. Due to the geographical spread of the member farms, from Tarbert, Loch Fyne in the South, to Kinlochbervie in the North, a location in Central Scotland was preferable.
Over the last few years Bellshill has become the main distribution centre in Scotland for chilled goods and was therefore an obvious site for a base.
The Group acquired the lease of an existing factory on the Motherwell Food Park at the end of July 1995. A major upgrading of the premises was undertaken to meet EEC and customer standards and the factory became operational at the end of September 1995.
Following a successful launch of value added cooked mussel products in October 1998 a new added value production line was installed in May 2000 to increase capacity to match growing demand. This line reached capacity within 3 months and, in 2001, a major investment programme was undertaken to meet the anticipated demand over the next few years.
A second factory was acquired and fitted out and all the Group's live shellfish depuration and holding tanks and live shellfish packing lines were transferred to this new factory.
The old factory was then completely refurbished and additional production facilities were installed to enable the Group to treble production of its added value lines from existing levels.
New offices were also acquired to accommodate the significant increase in staff levels.
