Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
New Angus seafood jobs as firm shuts Glasgow factory
SCOTTISH seafood producer Dawnfresh plans to close its factory near Glasgow and create 150 new jobs in Angus.
Workers at its Uddingston site, where 230 staff are based, were told of the closure decision yesterday. A 45-day consultation period has now begun.
Dawnfresh intends to move to one production site in the middle of next year with a workforce of more than 300 in Arbroath.
It has acquired the former Perimax building next door to its site at Kirkton Industrial Estate and will make a £5 million investment in the expansion.
Around 150 new jobs will be added to the current Angus workforce of 180.
Dawnfresh owns the historic brand RR Spink, which has operated from Arbroath since 1715.
The majority of its work is processing and packaging seafood for supermarkets.
It produces 10,000 tonnes of seafood a year across 350 product lines.
Managing director Raleigh Salvesen said the company had to take action after several loss-making years.
He said: “We have made significant investment in the production facilities to try to make them profitable.
“In the past few years the competition in the market has increased significantly.
“We are one of the few major Scottish seafood processors and our priority is to protect that and secure the future of as many jobs as possible.”
Mr Salvesen said closing the
Arbroath factory was among the options considered.
But he said the Angus site gave Dawnfresh “the best option for future growth”.
No Arbroath jobs are at risk under the plans.
“We are preparing the factory next door (in Arbroath) for production and then we will join the two buildings together,” the managing director said.
“We want to give staff as much notice as possible and transfer as many jobs from Uddingston as we can.”
The consultation period is due to last until early November. At that point the firm will advertise the jobs available in Arbroath.