FDBusiness.com

Canadian frozen food giant McCain Foods, which is the world’s largest manufacturer of frozen potato products, has commenced construction work on its planned £100 million investment programme to renew its production facility at Scarborough in England. The production facility at Eastfield has been one of McCain Foods’ most successful sites. The investment plan has been approved by Scarborough Borough Council.

Nick Vermont, chief executive of McCain GB & Ireland, comments: “We are delighted to be officially cutting ground and commencing our renewal plans for the Scarborough site. The investment we are making to renew the facility will secure the continued, long-term success of our site here in Eastfield for generations to come, allowing us to meet the increased demand for our products. As well as upgrading equipment, we will also be delivering broader environmental benefits, such as installing state-of-the-art odour reduction technology.”

McCain Foods has been operating in the UK market since 1965, initially through exports before building its first production facility at Scarborough in 1968. Britain was the group’s first major overseas market and this was used as a platform for further expansion into continental Europe throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

McCain Foods GB is the leader in the UK retail and food service sectors in frozen potato products such as French fries, potato specialties, and appetisers. Indeed, McCain is the best selling frozen potato brand in the UK.

McCain Foods GB operates four factories across the UK, including its head quarters in Scarborough. The company also owns a seed potato business based at Montrose in Scotland. McCain Foods GB is the UK’s largest purchaser of British potatoes, buying approximately 15% of the annual potato crop. The company has established close links with over 300 potato growers across the UK, so that it can exert control over its field to fork supply chain to ensure optimum quality.

For the year ended June 30th 2016 McCain Foods GB generated pre-tax profits of £63.8 million – up from £58.3 million in the previous year – on turnover up £12 million to £452.3 million.

Established in 1957 at Florenceville in Canada, McCain Foods is credited with creating the first ever frozen chip and has since developed into one of the world’s largest frozen food companies. Still family-owned, the group now operates 51 production facilities across six continents, employs over 20,000 people worldwide and generates annual sales of C$8.5 billion.

Over the past 18 months, McCain Foods has confirmed investments of more than $1 billion to add capacity at its plants in the USA, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, France, Belgium, Argentina, Colombia and India – reflecting the company’s continued growth on a global scale.

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Pictured (left to right): Derek Bastiman, leader of Scarborough Borough Council; Stuart Herd, vice president of McCain Foods; Jim Dillon, chief executive of Scarborough Borough Council; and Nick Vermont, chief executive of McCain GB & Ireland.