Farmers reap benefits of food firm success

by Andy Richardson » - 24/08/2010

"NORTH-EAST farmers are set for a boost following confirmation that a County Durham food firm is to complete a major expansion that will triple its capacity, after doubling the size of its workforce over the past 12 months. "

Tanfield Food Company Ltd, the latest venture by Roger McKechnie, the man behind Derwent Valley Foods – famous for its Phileas Fogg brand of savoury snacks – supplies leading retail chains with branded and own-label food.

The expansion will provide a shot in the arm for several of the region’s farmers and food producers who are suppliers for Tanfield’s Look What We Found brand of gourmet ready meals.

About a half the range is sourced from suppliers within a 50-mile radius of the factory in Hownsgill Park, Consett, County Durham.

Tees Valley cattle farmer Robin Hirst and Richard Townsend’s Yorkshire Game business, in Brompton-on-Swale, Richmond, North Yorkshire, are two of the suppliers set to benefit from Tanfield’s expansion.

Tanfield employs 110 people and is confident it will have 150 staff within the next two years.

Set up five years ago, the business has reached an annual turnover of about £12m and has grown from a single unit on the Consett site to four factories.

The growth has been driven by selling to three sectors: retail outlets such as Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose; the diet food market and the travel industry, with some of Tanfield’s breakfast range about to be offered on Ryanair flights.

Mr McKechnie said: “We try to source locally wherever possible because it cuts down on food miles and ensures we can be confident about the quality and provenance of our products.

“Ideally, we want to be in a position to guarantee the volume of our orders to suppliers because it is not sustainable to go from glut to famine. The supplier cannot plan if you are ordering a tonne of meat one month and next to nothing the next. The only problem we have is that some have struggled to meet our demands as we have expanded, so we are constantly looking for new, local producers who can meet our needs.

In 1993, Mr McKechnie and his co-founders sold Derwent Valley Foods to United Biscuits in a deal worth about £27m. Phileas Fogg snacks earned national recognition thanks to a marketing campaign that included television adverts with the tagline: “Made in Medomsley Road, Consett.”

More Details: http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/business/8347068.Farmers_reap_benefits_of_food_firm_success/