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Europe has role to play in helping Scottish business thrive - Lyon
August 5, 2010 10:53 AM
George Lyon, Liberal Democrat MEP for Scotland, visited the McCain Foods facility in Montrose today to see first-hand how the Scottish site provides potato seeds for the company's entire network of British growers.
Established in 1986, the McCain Foods Montrose facility is responsible for providing 25-30,000 tonnes of seed potatoes annually to growers based in nearly every county of England which are then used in McCain products. The McCain Montrose site accounts for more than 10% of the entire Scottish seed industry's annual production.
George Lyon, Liberal Democrat MEP, said, "McCain Foods is a major player in the rural economy of the North East and are committed to the future success of the Scottish seed potato industry. I was particularly impressed by their commitment to form long term relationships with their growers and their willingness to share the financial risks associated with seed potato production."
McCain Foods works with over 300 potato growers throughout the UK. Many of these growers are family run farms, some having worked with McCain for over three generations.
My Lyon continued, "While we continue to weather the economic storm we must make it as easy as possible in Scotland for successful companies like McCain's to thrive, creating new jobs and encouraging investment. Europe has a role to play in this. By reducing the burden of unnecessary bureaucracy and cutting through red tape we can help businesses to grow and prosper in the years to come."
The Montrose site is one of only three dedicated seed potato production facilities within the McCain Global Group, the others being in Canada and South Africa. George Lyon MEP was shown around the site by Colin Herron, General Manager of the Montrose site, who said, "McCain has been making fantastic chip and potato products in the UK for over 30 years now, but people often forget that it all starts at our site here in Montrose, which is why is great when people such as My Lyon ask to visit."
Mr Lyon stayed for over two hours and was shown where the potato seeds are grown as well as the certification and potato contract systems McCain has in place to ensure full traceability for its products, enabling customer trace their chips back to the field where the potatoes used were grown.
Mr Herron concluded, "People are always surprised about how seriously McCain takes the integrity of its supply chain even at this early stage in the process. If needed, we can trace products from anywhere in the UK back to the field from where the potatoes used were grown and even back to us where seed originated. It's great to think that products McCain sells across the country originated here in Montrose."
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