ForFarmers UK Blandford mill to close

The company said the plan was in line with ForFarmers UK's objective to optimise its supply chain.

The feed volume that is currently manufactured by the Blandford mill will be transferred to ForFarmers' facilities in Exeter and Portbury.

The closing date of the Blandford site will be set after finalising the required consultation process that started on Monday (February 18).

ForFarmers UK operates 15 manufacturing sites – production and blending mills.

In 2017, ForFarmers UK announced its objective to rationalise the supply chain both in terms of modernising existing mills and in its footprint of site locations.

This rationalisation is part of the previously announced £5 million reduction plan.

A company spokesman said: "During this process, the priority remains to maintain and improve customer satisfaction by consistently delivering good quality feed and excellent service performance.

"The Blandford site, one of the older ForFarmers UK sites, would require significant modifications to modernise it and improve its efficiency.

"ForFarmers UK now sees an opportunity to transfer the feed volumes produced in Blandford to the newly constructed Exeter mill and the recently upgraded Portbury mill."

The current Blandford volume comprises conventional (compound) feed and organic feed.

The firm's plan is to relocate the production of conventional feed volume to the newly constructed Exeter mill and that of organic feed to Portbury, which has recently been equipped with additional raw material storage bins to support the production of organic feed.

A dedicated project team has been deployed to ensure a seamless transfer, ForFarmers UK said.

Jointly with this relocation, ForFarmers UK said it was enhancing its delivery vehicle fleet to ensure that optimal quality of customer service can be maintained.

The spokesman added: "The intended closing of Blandford impacts approximately 30 employees."