Buckie salmon producer ASL net Arbroath fish processors
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A BUCKIE-based salmon producer has expanded its reach to the Angus coast thanks to a recent acquisition.
Associated Seafoods Ltd (ASL), whose headquarters are on the town's Low Street, has acquired the assets and goodwill of the Arbroath seafood processing business RR Spink & Sons (Arbroath) Ltd, which was previously part of the Dawnfresh Group.
The purchase of the Arbroath business will provide a platform for growth for the processing plant and its 249 employees, which will operate alongside ASL’s Buckie processing facility.
The Buckie plant employs 300 staff, and together with the latest addition to ASL's portfolio will form a business with a combined turnover in the region of £85 million. The Arbroath facility produces a wide range of smoked and value-added fish products for a broad customer base, including premium tier retailer, Marks & Spencer.
Victor West, managing director of ASL, said: “This acquisition is a major boost for Arbroath and the town’s long held fish processing tradition.
"Both businesses are major suppliers to Marks & Spencer, who are delighted that their two key suppliers of ready-to-eat seafood are joining ranks. We are thrilled that the Arbroath site will become part of our group, which will significantly expand our production capability in both volume and range.
"The Arbroath and Buckie sites share the same passion for seafood, and my team and I very much look forward to working in both locations with our enlarged ASL ‘family’.”
The move was also hailed by ASL chairman Bill Hazeldean.
He added: “Victor and his management team, together with all the employees at Buckie, have done a terrific job developing ASL into the successful business it is today.
"The addition of Arbroath will accelerate our planned strategic growth, and we look forward to working with our new colleagues through this next stage of our business development.”
Associated Seafoods was established in 2010, when it brought together two of the most respected companies within Scotland – Lossie Seafoods, a specialist in smoked fish and Moray Seafoods, a leading business in shellfish production.
The former company was established in 1913 and was focused on traditionally smoked seafood. The spirits of those traditions has been passed down over the decades and continue to underpin the values Associated Seafoods hold today.
Moray Seafoods was established in 1958 and has played an important role in the local economy since then. Moray Seafoods was a pioneer in the processing of scampi, which is still a prominent part of Associated Seafoods product line.
Find out more about ASL at https://www.associatedseafoods.com/
