BOCM to close Renfrew feed mill

Animal feed maker BOCM PAULS has announced plans to close its Renfrew mill next year, to cut costs.


The firm has entered a reciprocal agreement outsourcing its central Scottish business to local compounder Davidson Brothers, based at Shotts in Lanarkshire.


Under the terms of the deal, BOCM will manufacture and distribute some products for Davidson’s southern Scottish clients from its own mill at Penrith in Cumbria.


A separate agreement will see BOCM’s pig feeds and some poultry feeds manufactured by East Coast Viners from their mill at Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire.


Farmers will talk to the same sales team, but the move should cut costs for both firms by using the truck fleet more efficiently and closing excess capacity.


BOCM chief executive, Bill Mayne, said: “This alliance builds on the strengths of both businesses and allows us to continue manufacturing in one modern plant and distribute feed using one fleet of lorries.


“When both the feed industry and livestock farmers are under intense cost pressure, particularly from the recent rises in energy prices, this arrangement will allow us to continue to deliver high quality value for money products to our customers.”