Speaking to the NI Institute of Agricultural Science, Colin Purdy, the CEO of Mason’s Animal Feeds outlined his philosophy and the three pillars on which he bases his business:

  • Quality of product.
  • Personalised service.
  • Reliability.

    • His business supplies feed rations to the cattle and sheep sector from his mill at Marlacoo near Portadown to customers across NI and into the South.

    The market is very competitive and the past couple of years has brought major challenges with Brexit, rising energy prices and the interruption to supply chains due to the Ukraine situation.

    Despite the difficulties, Mason’s continues to grow and during his ownership of the business over the past eight years, sales have increased to hit £36m in 2021.

    Product quality is front and centre for all rations produced and is based on procuring top-quality ingredients from both local and overseas sources for cereals and proteins. Frequent sampling and testing to confirm the quality of raw materials and the finished product is carried out in the on-site laboratory.

    Colin stressed the importance of a personalised approach. Staff maintain close contact with all customers, and they offer nutritional advice while on the farm.

    Reliability

    In addition, Colin places major emphasis on the reliability of his service – always getting the feed delivered when required, even if the order is placed at short notice. To achieve this, the mill works on a 24/7 basis, six days a week all the year round.

    With the plant working at full capacity, Colin has plans to improve production by upgrading the power supply to the mill and he is in the process of adding another cubing line to increase throughput for pelleted and cubed products.

    With a load of meal going out the gate every 15 or 20 minutes, Mason’s Animal Feed is now a leading country miller in NI.

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