Showpiece Salmon Plant Nets Political Support

Meridian Salmon Group Press releases

Meridian logo for web newsMeridian Salmon Group’s investment in a new state-of-the-art salmon processing plant in Rosyth has been praised as ‘impressive and responsible’ by the town’s local politicians.

Once completed, the facility will become the biggest salmon processing plant in the UK and it is expected that between 200-300 jobs will be created when the facility is fully operational in its first year – with the full intention that this number will grow as the business expands.

Helen Eadie, MSP for Cowdenbeath, said: “I have made a point of visiting Meridian Salmon Group to meet the management and the team who are developing the processing plant.

“It is evident that a huge investment is taking shape and the jobs that are being created are a major boost to the area.

“Hundreds of jobs are involved and this is a great news story. I am enjoying the challenge of learning about the industry and wish the company good luck and success”

Meridian Salmon Group has already revealed that it has expanded the facility before it even opens by working closely with Fife Council on a plan to ‘infill’ the gap between the two sites at the vacant Lexmark building at Admiralty Business Park to create one large and self-contained development measuring around 14,000 sq/m.

Rosyth Councillor Mike Shirkie, who joined Helen Eadie to discuss the Rosyth site and the benefits that it will bring to the local community with Managing Director Mark Warrington, is delighted at the number of quality jobs coming to Rosyth.

He said: “The scale of the new salmon processing plant is a very welcome development, particularly for many young people in the area, who are in need of full time employment and a stable income.

“I am in regular contact with Meridian Salmon Group and I am pleased to see the responsible way in which they are developing this impressive site. I have also been able to see how the company is not only committed to sustainable salmon farming, but sets out to support the communities in which it operates.

“I wish the team all the best for the completion of the project and I am excited to see the positive impact that the plant will have on the local area.”

Work on transforming the site began last November and focused mainly on a phased programme of downtakings of the previous Lexmark interiors to allow the move to create the large-scale processing operations.

The building will be fitted out with unique, ultra-modern and highly efficient equipment, all custom made for Meridian Salmon Group who view the Rosyth plant as a clear endorsement of the importance of quality Scottish raw materials grown and processed in Scotland.

The plant will be capable of processing in excess of the 24,000 tonnes of salmon that the company currently produces each year. That will allow Meridian Salmon Group to become the UK’s only fully integrated salmon supplier in the UK – from hatching the young salmon right through to the consumer’s dinner plate.

In keeping with Meridian Salmon Group’s commitment to best practice in its entire farming and aquaculture operations and in protecting the natural environment and eco-systems in which they operate, the facility will operate to the highest quality and food safety standards. The company has also been involved in extensive consultations with Fife Council, Scottish Water and Scottish Environmental Protection Agency to ensure the site meets with all planning and regulatory controls.

Meridian Salmon Group is one of the top five salmon farming companies in Scotland, employing 350 people particularly in small communities in Shetland, Orkney and the West Coast. It operates at 61 sea sites and 19 freshwater sites across Scotland and Cumbria.

Meridian Salmon Group is unique in that it operates a combined integration processes involving salmon breeding, hatchery, farming and processing, which gives the company total control over every stage of the production cycle, resulting in fish of consistently high quality.

Meridian Salmon Group’s investment and planned expansion in production is particularly crucial in Scotland, where it helps support an industry that directly employs 2124 people – and thousands more in the salmon supply chain.

In particular, hundreds of jobs and fragile rural, island economies are dependent on the salmon farming industry, which is now Scotland’s biggest food exporter and worth £1.4bn to the Scottish economy in the last four years.

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