Jobs blow at iconic city site as factory to close
MOVE MARKS AN END TO SEED PRESSING INDUSTRY IN CENTRAL HULL AFTER ALMOST 500 YEARS
HULL has been delivered another manufacturing blow after one of its most iconic factories confirmed it is closing with job losses.
The Cargill oil seed pressing plant off Stoneferry Road is to close with 36 jobs now at risk. It marks an end to the seed pressing industry in central Hull after almost 500 years.
The news came just hours after Smith & Nephew also announced it was planning to close its Hull factory. The global medical equipment maker is moving to a new site at Melton in East Yorkshire.
Cargill operates a sprawling site at Morley Street which will now be closed for good. It includes the landmark “Isis” oil mills building which dates back to 1912. But oil pressing and seed crushing, which rivalled fishing as one of Hull’s most successful industries, dates back in the city to the 16th century.
Cargill said it was closing its Hull plant due to “current market conditions” which are thought to be a sharp drop in prices for rapeseed oil and rising costs.
A Cargill spokesperson told Farmers Weekly: “We can confirm Cargill has announced its intention to close its crush facility in Hull, UK, due to current market conditions. This would impact 36 positions effective end of December 2022. We are working closely with impacted employees and will be providing support throughout the transition.”
Cargill has been operating in Hull since 1985 when it took over the plant from Croda Premier Oils. It crushes up to 750 tonnes of rapeseed and other crops every day to extract crude oil and meal which are then used to make things like margarine, biodiesel and animal feed.
Farmer’s Weekly described the closure of Cargill as “a notable loss to processing capacity within the UK”.
The loss of Cargill in Hull means there will be just three similar plants left in the UK, in Liverpool, Kent, and Warwickshire.
In 2019, demolition on part of the Cargill site began to clear away historic old mill workings around the Grade II listed Isis mill. The neighbouring abandoned refinery buildings dating back to the 1950s were cleared because of safety concerns. It is unclear now what will happen to the Isis mill building, which still towers over the area, now that Cargill are leaving the site.
The move is another blow too for Hull after Friday’s announcement by medical supplies maker Smith & Nephew that they are closing their iconic plant off Hessle Road for a move to a new state-of-the-art facility at Melton West Business Park, eight miles away.
Although the move is likely to secure more than 800 Smith & Nephew staff, it is a major loss for Hull, including the significant Business Rate revenues it paid to Hull City Council.