Scottish beef processor unveils new plant

Scottish meat processor Scotbeef unveiled its new £17m plant at Queenslie, Glasgow, last week, which will cut and pack 150 beef product lines a day for Uk and European customers.

Opened by Scottish rural affairs minister Ross Finnie, the new 120,000 sq ft Scotbeef facility, includes cold storage for 5,000t.

At its abattoir at Bridge of Allan, near Stirling in central Scotland, Scotbeef slaughters over 80,000 head of cattle each year, supplying beef to a range of UK retailers, including Marks and Spencer, Sainsbury’s and The Co-operative Group.

Since the lifting of the beef export ban last May, Scotbeef has re-kindled many of its markets in Belgium, Holland, France and Italy.

The addition of the new processing and packing plant means Scotbeef can take a prime animal right the way from slaughter to point-of-sale packed and labelled cuts or ready meals.

Peter Alexander, Scottish Beef Cattle Association vice chairman, said: “We’re delighted that the Galloway family, which owns Scotbeef, has made another major investment in the Scottish livestock industry.

“Their new value-adding operation, supplying some of the top names in the British High Street, is exactly what livestock producers need to help keep home-produced meat on consumers’ plates in these highly competitive times”.