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ABP’s purchase of the 50% share of Slaney Foods owned by the Allen family has, as many have expected, come to pass.
Speaking at an organic sheep meeting in Claremorris on Tuesday night, James Smyth, group procurement manager for Irish Country Meats (ICM) said that the company became part of the shareholding owned by Linden Foods and ABP on 2 November 2016.
ICM is the sheep specialist arm of Slaney Foods and now also becomes part of the Linden Foods and ABP joint venture.
ICM has undertaken extensive investment in its main processing site in Camolin in recent years.
Under the leadership of chief executive Joe Hyland, who heads up the ICM venture, it has positioned itself among the leading lamb processing facilities in Europe.
Along with its other site in Navan, Co Meath, the group processes 1.1m sheep annually – or in the region of 41% of the national kill.
The group also acquired Belgium’s premier lamb processing plant A Lonhienne in Liege a few years ago, and with it created trade avenues into value added markets.
According to Smyth, the company is now targeting adding maximum value to all sheep processed, with 75% of throughput now undergoing deboning and further processing.
Commenting on the link-up with ABP, he said it will bring benefits to both companies, with access to an expanded portfolio of customers and greater expertise.
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