Baxters to create 125 jobs as Fray Bentos pie-making moves north

By Peter Ranscombe
Published on Friday 17 February 2012 00:00

BAXTERS, the soup and sauce maker, will create up to 125 jobs at its Fochabers head office this year when it moves production from its newly acquired Fray Bentos pie business.

Chairman Audrey Baxter told The Scotsman that she hopes to have all the equipment moved from the existing factory in Lincolnshire to Moray and have production up and running again by November.

Fray Bentos, which was sold to Baxters last November by Branston pickle maker Princes, is currently producing extra pies so that stocks don’t run out during the move north of the Border.

The company remains on the acquisition trial even after swallowing the pie business, which could add some £30 million to its current £120m sales.

Baxter said: “Fray Bentos is a lovely addition to our business. It’s completely different but an iconic brand and one that fits very well with our business.

“Moving the equipment is a complex move. We’ll also be adding to our sales and marketing operation in Glasgow, although I can’t put a number on that just yet.”

Baxters’ UK business currently has about 1,000 staff spread across Fochabers, Glasgow and other sites.

Shifting the Fray Bentos jobs to Moray will come as a boost for the local economy, which was dealt a blow last year with the closure of the air base at RAF Kinloss, near Forres.

News of Fray Bentos’ move north came as Baxters released its financial results ahead of the company filing accounts at Companies House at the end of the month.

Pre-tax profits rose by 6 per cent to £7.1m in the year to 28 May despite turnover dipping by 2 per cent to £125.8m. Revenues fell in the UK but Baxter said her overseas operations posted “a healthy double-digit rise in sales”.

Demand was especially strong in Australia, Canada and the United States, following the acquisition of a number of overseas businesses in recent years.

Baxter said the volume of soup and other products being produced in the factory had continued to increase, with more efficient production processes leading to the rise in profits.

But Baxter – who was last year appointed as a non-executive director of the five big banks’ Business Growth Fund – warned that the squeeze on consumer spending had made the home market much tougher.

She predicted that the current economic conditions would not improve for at least two years and said the company was mounting “buy two get one free” offers and other discounts to carrying on winning business.

Although the company is still growing in its current financial year, Baxter said that trading had been “extremely tough”.

Baxters traces its roots back to 1868, when George Baxter borrowed £100 from his family to open a grocers shop in Fochabers, where his wife, Margaret, made jams.

Their daughter-in-law, Ethel, added soups to the range in 1929, starting with the now famous royal game flavour.

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Family guy

Monday, February 20, 2012 at 09:37 AM

1 - You favour lincolnshire over fochabers?

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Snoopy1

Friday, February 17, 2012 at 03:20 PM

#1 Liconshire is a farming area,you do not see many farmers driving about in Ladas,what you see is state of the art 4x4s,to say it is a poor county with high unemployment like the North West & North East of England like Tynside & Mersyside then i would have to disagree with you. As far as Baxters having 1000 employees spread out in Glasgow & Fochabers they might think of going into the meat paste business,such as grouse spread & deer spread,i hope that they improve the pastry of the Fray Bentos pies,as it is a bit soggy,maybee they could do a shortcrust pie,or even a Haggis Pie,or a Game pie with plenty of SNP gravey, that would go down nice with Alec Salmond,but the Prime Minister would like to see a "Salmond Paste " as that would go down nice on burnt toast with a glass of English ale to wash it down with before the elections in 2014.

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Aussie Aussie Aussie

Friday, February 17, 2012 at 11:43 AM

But the English and Scots Labour party people said that no one would bring jobs to Scotland with the threat of independence about. And they wonder why we want to go it alone! Idiots.

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Scots Birder

Friday, February 17, 2012 at 08:04 AM

Very nice for Fochabers but what a pity for Lincolnshire that also has high levels of undemployment and few well paid, secure and steady jobs.

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