FDBusiness.com

Northern Ireland poultry business Moy Park is taking responsibility for the leadership and management of all of its Brazilian owner’s operations in Europe, as part of a major reorganisation of the Marfrig Group.

The new organisation will bring together the European business units of Keystone Europe, Seara and Marfrig under the direction of Moy Park, adding about £500m of business to its existing £1bn turnover.

Moy Park, which was acquired by Marfrig in 2008, is the UK’s second-largest poultry processor. Located in 13 sites across three countries in Europe, it employs almost 10,000 staff producing 1,500 products, including fresh and coated poultry, ready-to-eat meals, light bites and desserts.

Keystone Foods was acquired by Marfrig in 2011 and serves the quick-service restaurant, food service and retail markets throughout Europe with a wide variety of further processed beef and chicken products. McDonald’s is a major customer. It has seven processing facilities and is currently headquartered in Le Pecq, France.

Seara is Marfrig’s consumer brand for frozen and ready-to-cook products.

“We believe that by bringing together the business units and functions currently operating across Europe we can make better use of the respective strengths of each to better meet our customers’ expectations,” said Nigel Dunlop, who has been appointed as Moy Park Europe chief executive.

It will also enable Moy Park to open up opportunities for its customers to access the wide range of Marfrig products currently being sold in other international markets.

The businesses will all retain their existing identities, said a spokeswoman, but the reorganisation will make it easier for each part of the business to sell products from other parts to their existing customer bases.

Moy Park’s headquarters in Craigavon, Northern Ireland, will become responsible for the new, combined European business, providing central support, including finance, information systems and procurement.