The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
New era beckons at Scottish grain storage yards
As a new year beckons, changes are afoot at the former grain storage sites of W.N. Lindsay Ltd.
Back in January 2021, Simpsons Malt Ltd completed the acquisition of the grain merchanting business of W.N. Lindsay Ltd, which included the company’s four sites at Keith in Morayshire, Stracathro in Angus, Sidlaw in Perthshire, and Gladsmuir in East Lothian.
Founded in 1862, Simpsons Malt is a fifth-generation, family malting and merchanting business and one of the largest maltsters in the UK. It also recently became a Certified B Corporation, joining a growing group of companies that have met rigorous social and environmental standards that represent commitment to goals outside of shareholder profit.
Following close to 12 months of system integration, from January 1 2022, the W.N. Lindsay Ltd name will no longer be in use. The four sites will be rebranded in the coming weeks to feature the logo of Simpsons Malt’s agricultural merchanting division, McCreath Simpson & Prentice (MSP), while all W.N. Lindsay Ltd farm traders will begin to work under the MSP brand.
“With W.N. Lindsay Ltd a prominent business in the Scottish agricultural sector, we know that many customers will have forged a strong connection with the Lindsay brand and the people working for the company throughout the years,” said commercial director Andy Hindhaugh.
“However, we’re delighted that most farm traders have remained following the acquisition and, as a fellow fifth-generation, family business, we believe Simpsons Malt, with its unique infrastructure spanning agricultural merchanting, grain storage and malting, is well placed to continue to meet customer requirements and growers can still contact their farm trader as normal.”
Supply Chain
In gaining approximately 250,000 tonnes of in-house grain storage, the acquisition has allowed Simpsons Malt to further secure its malting barley supply chain, offering enhanced traceability for both the grower and end user.
From the grain stores, the barley is then transported via wagon – most of the Simpsons Malt fleet uses sustainable HVO fuel, reducing net CO2 emissions by up to 90% – to the company’s two maltings. The Simpsons Malt headquarters is its Tweed Valley Maltings, which is located in Berwick-upon-Tweed. It produces around 240,000 tonnes of malt per year that is mostly for distilleries across Scotland, with customers including Edrington (Macallan, Glenrothes and Highland Park), Chivas and William Grant & Sons.
The company’s second maltings is in Tivetshall St Margaret, Norfolk. This site produces around 55,000 tonnes of malt per year for the brewing and food industries with a global network of customers, from
Europe and North America to South Africa, Australia and the Far East.
The acquisition of the grain merchanting business of W.N. Lindsay Ltd ties in with another major investment planned by the company in Scotland. Last week, a planning application for a state-ofthe-art, 100,000-tonnes-per-year maltings with malting barley storage facilities on the outskirts of Rothes was submitted to Moray Council. If approved, a maltings in the heart of Scotch whisky country will enable the company to serve its distilling customers in the region – most of which are within a 10 mile radius of the proposed site – as sustainably and efficiently as possible. It will also enable the company to store and malt Scottish -grown barley in Scotland.
Hindhaugh adds: “All suppliers within the cereal supply chain are increasingly accountable to the end user and even the consumer – particularly on product traceability and sustainability – and as a pivotal buyer of malting barley and supplier of malt, we are ideally placed to play a leading role in improving supply chain management.
“To highlight the commitment to our growers and to sustainability, we were proud to assist all of our farming partners who grow malting barley on contract in becoming accredited to SAI Platform’s Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA) to Gold level. This was completed prior to the
acquisition and the goal is to get all former W.N. Lindsay Ltd contracted growers verified to Gold level in 2022.”
Complete Range Of Services
But MSP doesn’t just buy in and store barley for malting at harvest time. The agricultural merchanting division offers a full range of farm inputs and services assisted by FACTS and BASIS-qualified agronomists, with the addition of W.N. Lindsay Ltd staff, sites and infrastructure allowing for an increased and improved offering to growers.
MSP supplies all major varieties of cereal and pulse seeds, with the seed dressed at the division’s own seed plant in Berwick-uponTweed. In addition to that, there is
a fertiliser blending plant, while MSP is also a distributor of marketleading fertiliser and agrochemical brands. Other departments include the supply of game and livestock feed, grass seed and cover crops and the trading of combinable crops, including wheat, oats, oil seed rape and rye.
“As expert agricultural merchants, MSP are your partners in farming,” adds Hindhaugh. “We would like to offer a warm welcome to our new customers and hope this is the beginning of long-lasting working relationships.”
For more information on MSP, head to yourpartnersinfarming. co.uk or call 01289 330022.