Dawnfresh to close Uddingston plant and expand in Arbroath
Seafood producer Dawnfresh today announced plans to close its processing plant in Uddingston near Glasgow, and expand its site in Arbroath, in Angus.
The company is spending £5 million in expanding the Arbroath plant, which it hopes to have fully operational by the middle of next year.
Dawnfresh employs 230 permanent production staff in Uddingston and 180 in Arbroath, with plans for an extra 150 posts in Arbroath when the extension is completed.
Relocation
Staff at Uddingston will be able to apply for the new jobs and will be offered a relocation allowance and protection of current pay and conditions.
Dawnfresh is aiming to increase the amount of seafood it processes by 30% over the next five years and increase the 350 different product lines it currently delivers.
Platform for growth
Managing director Raleigh Salvesen said: “For the remainder of this year and until the move next year, our operations at Uddingston will very much continue as normal.
“The plan to expand facilities at Arbroath will provide a platform for future growth and help Dawnfresh to adapt to a changing and highly competitive business sector. This move is critical if we are to meet our objective of keeping seafood production jobs in Scotland.
“It will be sad to close our factory in Uddingston, but we are incentivising our team to join us on this journey and hope many of our experienced and skilled staff join us in Arbroath.”
Supply chain director Garry Price said: “Our staff are our most valuable resource, and we are encouraging as many of our skilled food production team as possible to make this journey with us next year. We are encouraging all of our production staff, including our temporary agency staff, to apply for one of the positions in Angus.”
Dawnfresh is Scotland’s biggest trout farmer. The farming sector will be unaffected by the processing reorganisation.
