Wilsons expands with new processing plant

Wilsons Pet Foods is set to further expand through the acquisition of Dunbia’s meat processing plant at Drongan, South Ayrshire. 

The company previously operated out of two separate units in Perthshire but witnessed a “rapid growth” amid the pandemic and a rise in online sales. It was therefore necessary to move to a larger premises.

The multi-million-pound facility at Drongan reportedly offers Wilsons a “plug-and-play” operation, according to company managing director Craig Wallace. 

Wallace said: “The extensive chilled production areas, cold and ambient stores, plus packaging and storage sections are ideal for our ambitious future plans. The total site extends to almost three acres, and we can now operate with greater efficiency in a superbly maintained 25,000 sq.ft building. Our massive canteen alone is bigger than our entire operation at Perth.

“Despite being self-funded, we’ve made huge progress in the last 18 months, and the Drongan operation will allow us to further strengthen our position in a tough market. Brexit wasn’t exactly ideal for our overseas sales, but on the plus side we are now selling in over 250 retail outlets and getting regular calls for own-branded labels. The extra capacity at Drongan means that we will no longer be turning away customers.”

The group was rescued from administration just over three years ago by Wallace. Traditional kibble has since been phased out of the group and in its place comes a range of raw frozen and cold pressed food.

In addition, three separate income streams have been established – retail, branded own label, and online – with online sales witnessing “stellar” month-on-month increases in excess of 10% 

The cold pressed dog food will continue to be manufactured at a factory near Blairgowrie, and all production of raw frozen will switch to Drongan.