ForFarmers U.K. will close its site in Blandford, England, in the second quarter of 2019. This is in line with ForFarmers U.K.’s objective to optimize its supply chain. The feed volume that is manufactured by the Blandford mill will be transferred to ForFarmers’ facilities in Exeter and Portbury, England.
ForFarmers U.K. operates 15 manufacturing sites (production and blending mills). In 2017, ForFarmers U.K. announced its objective to rationalize the supply chain in terms of modernizing existing mills and in its footprint of site locations. This rationalization is part of the previously announced GBP5 million (US$6.5 million) reduction plan. During this process, the priority remains to maintain and improve customer satisfaction by consistently delivering good quality feed and excellent service performance. The Blandford site, one of the older ForFarmers U.K. sites, would require significant modifications to modernize it and improve its efficiency. ForFarmers U.K. now sees an opportunity to transfer the feed volumes produced in Blandford to the newly constructed Exeter mill and the recently upgraded Portbury mill.
Optimization of supply chain
The Blandford volume comprises conventional (compound) feed and organic feed. The plan is to relocate the production of conventional feed volume to the newly constructed Exeter mill and that of organic feed to Portbury, which has recently been equipped with additional raw material storage bins to support the production of organic feed. A dedicated project team has been deployed to ensure a seamless transfer. Jointly with this relocation, ForFarmers U.K. is enhancing its delivery vehicle fleet to ensure that optimal quality of customer service can be maintained. The intended closing of Blandford affects approximately 30 employees.
