Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal, Princess Anne, has opened Dunbia’s Highland Meats’ upgraded facilities in Scotland following a £12m investment, Dunbia’s parent company Dawn Meats announced on Friday.

The new facilities, which include upgrades to the abattoir and cutting areas at the Saltcoats plant, will support the long-term expansion of Highland Meats, which employs over 320 staff.

The Princess Royal is president of the Scotch Beef Club, which has members across Scotland and the wider United Kingdom (UK).

A Dawn Meats spokesperson said the £12m investment was supported by Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish government, in a commitment to the long-term future of the plant and the wider meat processing sector, which is worth over £1bn to the Scottish economy.

Over 1,000 farmer suppliers

The spokesperson for Dawn Meats said it has been involved in Scotland since it acquired Highland Meats in 1986, working with a network of over 1,000 farmer suppliers.

Dawn Meats CEO Niall Browne said: “It is an honour to host Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal at Highland Meats and we thank her, along with representatives from Quality Meat Scotland, the Scottish government, Scottish Enterprise, local producer suppliers and customers, for joining us in the opening of our upgraded facility.

“Dawn Meats has had a strong presence in Scotland for over 35 years and we look forward to enhancing the relationships we have built with the community, customers and suppliers, which this investment at Dunbia Highland Meats will allow us to achieve.”

Highland Meats general manager Jane McHarg said the company is “confident that this investment will underpin further expansion of [its] Scottish beef business”.

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