Smithfield meat finalists named
Smithfield meat finalists named
FOUR finalists have been short-listed for The Royal
Smithfield Clubs Bicentenary Trophy Award this year
in recognition of their outstanding contribution to the
British Meat Livestock Industry.
David D Hill. Currently Devon NFU chairman, Mr Hill runs suckler beef on 180ha (450 acres) of Less Favoured Area land at Germansweek, West Devon. He has farmed here since 1988, following a long career in surveying and estate agency in Surrey/Sussex.
In 1998 he helped found the Triple S Ranch, a farmer-owned company that supplies traditional butchers with prime cuts and Abbey Vale Bakery with mince and diced meat from their producer shareholders.
In 1999 Triple S commissioned a purpose-built cutting plant at Newton Abbot for its subsidiary West Country Beef. In the same year Mr Hill was appointed to the board of Abbey Vale Bakery, becoming chairman in Aug 2000, and is currently overseeing a major expansion there into foodservice and ready meals all using Triple S production.
Frederick J Mallion has spent his entire working life in the meat trade and is well known throughout the industry for his major contribution to education and training.
* Smithfield College
A lecturer and later principal of the Smithfield College for 24 years, he has served on a number of meat/food industry official bodies. A former council member and president of the Institute of Meat and director and vice-chairman of the Meat Industry Training Organ-isation, he was a leading light in setting up the Meat Training Council and has been director and company secretary for the past eight years.
A Liveryman of The Worship-ful Company of Butchers since 1962, he served as Master in 1992-93. In 1983 he was appointed an MBE for his services to the Meat Trade. Since 1962 he has been assessor of the champion and reserve champion carcasses after each Royal Smithfield Show.
David Maunder is chairman of poultry and sheep processors Lloyd Maunder, Willand, Devon. An influential meat processor and exporter, Mr Maunder has long been an advocate of modern sheep breeding techniques to enable product improvement with the consumer in mind. This is evidenced by his contribution to various MLC committees over the years including the MLC Sheep Technical Committee and now the Sheep Strategy Council.
* Family business
As well as running a large family business, he is currently president of the British Meat Federation. He was a key industry member of the Pooley Committee that reported to the Government on the inequality of Meat Hygiene Service charges in the abattoir sector.
Alan Stevenson, of Old School House, Kinnaird, Perthshire, has over 40 years international experience in the meat industry, during which he has held a number of senior executive management positions in meat processing companies, including a spell as an executive director of FMC, with responsibility for 16 meat plants in Scotland, England and Wales.
An active participant in meat industry politics for many years, he was president of SAMW from 1991-93. With the exit of Hillsdown from the red meat industry, Mr Stevenson became the executive manager of SAMW. Currently, he is chairman of the UK Meat Industry Training Council.
Smithfield 2000 meat exhibit. The RSC award aims to recognise those who have contributed the most to the United Kingdom meat industry.