Irish meat is renowned as being some of the best in the world and a lot of this is down to the hard work and dedication of the meat processing companies in this country.
Dunbia is one of the largest processors of lamb, pork and beef for retail and commercial customers across Europe, operating from a dozen sites in Britain and Ireland. It is involved in the procurement, slaughter and de-boning of cattle and sheep, wholesale distribution and retail packing of beef and lamb. The company has been led since its formation by brothers Jack Dobson and his brother Jim.
In 1976, Jack and Jim along with their father Fred opened a small butcher’s shop, Fresh ’n’ Frozen, which was subsequently renamed as Dungannon Meats and then, in 2006, as Dunbia.
Dunbia has grown organically and now processes 350,000 cattle, 1.8 million lambs and 700,000 pigs a year. Turnover was €1.15 billion in 2014 and the company employs more than 4,000 staff.
The company has offices in Holland, France and China, as well as a strategic alliance in Italy. Europe is a key market for beef, pork and lamb but emerging markets include exporting hides to Italy, sheepskins in China to produce Ugg boots, porkto Japan, lamb loins to Dubai and beef offal to Africa.
Dunbia has grown organically from a small Tyrone-based family business into a giant of the global meat processing sector with outlets both in Ireland and the U.K.
Now, around half of the company’s business involves selling meat, primarily beef and lamb, to the major supermarkets across the UK — including Sainsbury’s, one of the firm’s first big customers.
Procurement Manager of their Beauparc (Slane, Co Meath) branch is David Coyne and he spoke to Irish Tractor & Agri about his role in the company and the process they go through to get their products to the end user.
“We have a massive export trade. We do a lot of offal to the Far East, and then we also have lots of exports to Europe in lamb and beef,” said David.
“Beauparc was established in 2001 and we have a core group of suppliers that is anywhere between 2,500 and 3,000. We deal direct with the farmers and we have 30 agents located across the country.
“Bullocks and heifers fit for factory slaughter is what we are looking for and we would slaughter 300 cattle a day or 1,500 a week, 90% of which got to our Kilbeggan plant to be boned out,” added David.
“Most of the meat is then sold to customers in the U.K. There are 65 people employed in Beauparc and all the cattle that passes through here would be Bord Bia approved.”
Dunbia has become an international company over the years and they now have sales offices in France, Holland and China as they firmly believe they need to be represented in the markets that they serve.
“Exports make up a big part of Dunbia’s trade. Our products reach many countries around the world.”
Dunbia has always taken great pride in putting funding into research in order to ensure that they meet their customers’ demands.
“A lot does be invested in research and innovation. The way meat is sold has changed over the years, people want different types and it is up to us to provide them with what they want.
Key to Dunbia’s success has been the loyalty shown to them by their customers and suppliers, many of whom have been with them from the very beginning.
“We feel that it is important to deal with the farmers directly and offer that personal service. This is a family run business which is an important aspect of the company. At Dunbia, we are very proud of our customer relationships, many of which have been in existence for years.
Dunbia enjoys long-term relationships with many of Europe’s largest retailers and works closely with them to integrate the supply chain and create a sustainable and profitable agricultural industry.
The company recognises that environmental impacts are created as a result of our business activities. They strive to manage our sites in compliance with legislation and reduce our environmental impact through vigilant environmental management practises.
Their assurance to sound environmental stewardship and protection is highlighted within their Environmental Policy. Some of their key environmental achievements in recent times include ISO Accreditation at three Dunbia sites; Successful commissioning of two state-of-the-art effluent treatment plants; Diverted 1000 tonnes from landfill through recycling initiatives in Northern Ireland and 55.5% reduction in water use.
“There are many key areas to the business and everything is done to the highest standards and regulations possible.”
Dunbia (Slane)
Greenhills
Beauparc, Navan
Co Meath
+353 (0) 469 024127 telephone
+353 (0) 469 024608 fax
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 4 No 6, July/August 2016
