Cooke Acquires Invergordon Fish Feed Mill In Scotland
SAINT JOHN – Cooke Inc. has yet another acquisition to its growing portfolio of businesses.
The company announced Thursday the establishment of Northeast Nutrition Scotland Limited after the acquisition of the former Skretting fish feed mill in Invergordon, a town and port in Easter Ross, in Ross and Cromarty, Highland, Scotland.
The mill facility is located at Inverbreakie Industrial Estate and had previously produced fish feed for aquaculture companies in Scotland. Northeast Nutrition Scotland Limited will manufacture fish feed for Cooke Aquaculture Scotland Limited, a leading salmon producer with facilities in the Shetland and Orkney Islands, as well as the United Kingdom’s mainland.
“All of our salmon is reared using feeds that are manufactured in compliance with the highest standards for animal feed safety,” said Glenn Cooke, CEO of Cooke Inc, in a news release. “We are excited to include domestic feed manufacturing in Scotland, adding to the vertical integration of our operations and further enhancing the full traceability of our fish.”
Skretting announced in November 2018 its plans to cease manufacturing activities in the United Kingdom, and it closed the Invergordon facility at the end of April 2019. Cooke says it plans to work with former employees who were affected by the closure to resume operations at the mill.
“We are thrilled to be in a position to offer new opportunities to those employees and have an engaged and experienced team in place from day one,” said Chris Bryden, the mill’s manager, in a statement. “As a rural coastal community, Invergordon has a population of approximately 4,000 residents. Joining the Cooke family of companies provides us with the opportunity to keep Scottish jobs and be an important part of a globally respected growing seafood leader.”