The second week of January brought fresh pain for the food manufacturing industry, as more factory closures were announced.
Gibsons Foods’ factory at Ellesmere Port was the latest to fold, resulting in the loss of 245 jobs. The company produced sandwiches for supermarkets, garage forecourts and other retailers.
Claire Foster and Fiona Grant of insolvency practitioners Wilson Field were appointed joint administrators of Gibsons Foods on January 7, 2009. But last week they announced: “It is with regret that the joint administrators report that the site based at Ellesmere Port has had to close with the loss of 245 jobs.”
The administrators confirmed that its site in Devizes, Wiltshire has been taken over by a rival company, The Ultimate Foods, saving nearly 100 jobs.
It is thought that the company ran into difficulties after losing supply contracts.
The closure comes at a time when over 400 of the GMB’s union members, working at Findus, attended meetings at the Longbenton site last week. They were there to find out the outlook for their jobs, after administrators were called in.
Simon Wilson, Nick Cropper, and Stuart Mackellar, partners at Zolfo Cooper were appointed joint administrators to Newcastle Production, which manufactures under the Findus brand name.
A spokesman at Zolfo Cooper said that as a result of a fire on the site prior to its appointment as administrators, the facility is currently closed while damage and options are assessed. “Unfortunately this means that we have had to make the majority of the workforce formally redundant.
“Regrettably, 359 employees of Newcastle Production have been made redundant. Twenty-eight employees have been retained and are assisting the administrators with customer relations, stock sales, and the maintenance and security of the site,” he added.
The Findus plant makes Fisherman fish pies, tuna pasta bakes and fish fingers as well as other frozen products, including crispy pancakes and traditional English meals, such as cottage pie and toad in the hole.
Zolfo Cooper said that it was encouraged by the level of interest shown by prospective purchasers of Newcastle Production at this early stage of the administration process, and remained confident that a sale can be achieved.
Chris Preston, GMB union organiser said: “The order book for this factory is full. However, the company has been hit by a series of other problems that puts its future in doubt. The devastating collapse of its bankers, Landsbanki, was followed by the fire which destroyed parts of the production line.
“GMB is seeking a meeting with the administrator. GMB wants to examine ways in which the business can be bought as a going concern and production resumed when the factory has been cleaned up.”
The first week of January also saw Tulip International’s announcement to close a factory at Bromborough in the Wirral. Production also re-started at confectioner Bristow’s of Devon, after it was bought out of receivership at the end of last year.