Dunleavy Meats Ltd is a third-generation meat processing business based outside Ballina in Co. Mayo that supplies quality beef and lamb products to the retail, wholesale and catering sectors in Ireland and overseas. The company has gone from strength to strength since it started exporting over a decade ago as John Dunleavy explains.
From humbling beginnings, Dunleavy Meats has grown to become one of Co. Mayo’s most successful companies. The business was established in 1961 by John and Maura Dunleavy and transferred to their son Michael, who is now joined by his wife Eithne and their sons John and Brian. As well as setting up a butcher shop in Ballina, John and Maura built the Mayo Sligo Livestock Mart in Ballina.
For many years, Michael ran both the butcher shop and the family farm. As the reputation for the product grew, so did the business. In 1998, works commenced on a new purpose-built abattoir and deboning facility about four miles outside Ballina on the Killala Road. Three years later, Dunleavy Meats acquired its EU licence and began to export.
Since then, through a high level of investment and building relationships with customers and suppliers, the company has grown substantially with about 85 per cent of its produce now being exported. Its main export markets are mainland Europe, Philippines, China and the Caribbean. Dunleavy Meats kills approximately 500 cattle per week which are sourced from local farms.
“We take pride in providing the finest beef and lamb to our customers, who include wholesalers, local butcher shops and the high-end catering sector,” John Dunleavy Jnr explains.
“Our background has earned us a strong respect for the traditions of cattle raising and traditional butchery styles. We are constantly developing new products, offering a wide range from carcass to primal cuts. We are committed to expanding our customer-base in all international food markets and developing long-term mutually beneficial partnerships. We employ 70 staff between full-time and part-time, and currently have our sights set on breaking into both the Egyptian and Middle-East markets.”
While the various ranges are produced to different quality criteria, they have two things in common. All cattle and lambs are selected by the company’s professional butchers for each range and produced from stock that have been grass fed which, of course, has many health and nutritional benefits such as high levels of Omega 3.
Nephin is Dunleavy Meats’ premium beef brand representing the finest quality and premium taste. All Nephin cattle are 100 per cent grass fed, are under 36 months and are singled out by trained procurement specialists who select according to demanding specifications that ensure Nephin beef delivers consistently.
“Our hand-selected beef is produced to the highest possible standards to ensure consistency and quality throughout the range,” John says.
Dunleavy Meats has a comprehensive Food Safety Management System under its Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) where training is given that it operates from the top down to secure maximum food hygiene and safety levels of the production process. The company employs a Manufacturing Practice approach where product integrity begins on the farm with suppliers and with this partnership, consistently high standards are maintained in what is a controlled, hygienic and safe environment.
Dunleavy Meats can provide complete and instantaneous traceability. The system also gives the company the flexibility to control and monitor product specifications in a real-time environment, which underpins its Total Quality Management System.
It is the firm’s policy to produce beef and lamb products which meet and exceed customer safety and quality requirements. Dunleavy Meats employs a technical team which executes quality control checks to ensure the product meets customer requirements. This demonstrates its compliance with relevant legislation, customer codes of practice and third-party standards. Dunleavy Meats is BRC, HACCP and Halal Authority of Ireland accredited.
The Ballina processing facility is truly state-of-the-art. The lairage is cutting edge when it comes to observing animal welfare best practice. With curved races, non-slip floors, a constant feed and water supply, and optimum pen spacing and sizes, the highest welfare standards are ensured.
The EU approved slaughtering and deboning halls are EU approved with the latest technology employed to maximise efficiencies, maintain hygiene levels and deliver consistency.
With 70 per cent of the beef quality being determined post-slaughter, Dunleavy Meats takes practices such as chilling beef very seriously. Great care is taken to ensure that carcasses are well spaced in chills so that there is no touching. The fact that there is large chilled storage space enables the business to chill beef in batches according to pre-selected carcass criteria for its brands. Gradual and consistent chilling is especially important in the hours after slaughter.
The loading bay provides ample space to organise and select products for palletising and carcass dispatch along with dock-levelled loading bays and barcode scanning allows Dunleavy Meats to dispatch in an organised manner at speed.
A real-time Traceability IT System ensures that stringent controls are executed at critical points of each process flow. This forms the basis of the company’s Total Quality Management System where full traceability can be provided at the touch of a button.
Dunleavy Meats Ltd
Coonealcauraun,
Ballina,
Co. Mayo.
Telephone: 096 33930
Email: [email protected]
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 5 No 2, March 2017
