Egg processor listed in Northern Ireland's growth businesses
Northern Irish egg processor Skea Egg Farms has been named among the top 10 local companies with significant growth potential. Skea is among 30 agri-food listed in growing businesses in a recent Ulster Business 200 Survey.
The survey, which lists "potentially upwardly mobile" companies that could be in line to enter Northern Ireland's Top 100, is carried out for data consultancy Dun & Bradstreet for Ulster Business magazine with sponsorship from solicitors TLT NI.
The list is based on date about sales, profit and turnover and shows the continuing strength of the agri-food sector in Northern Ireland, a £5 billion industry that employs around 100,000 across the wider supply chain.
Based at Dungannon in county Tyrone, Skea Eggs packs and markets quality eggs to major retailers both in Northern Ireland and Great Britain. Formed in the 1970s, Skea employs 125 employees in the supply of eight million organic, free-range, barn and colony eggs produced by around 1.6 million birds, the majority of which are reared in Northern Ireland.
D&B's Jonathan Cushley says the UB 200 Survey shows "the wealth of business expertise and talent within Northern Ireland which sits below the top 100 business sales threshold of £64.7 million in 2016".
Other food and drink processing business in the list include Northway Mushrooms of Blackwaterttown, county Armagh, Hilton Meats of Cookstown, county Tyrone, Avondale Foods, Lurgan, county Armagn, Strathroy Dairy, Omagh, county Tyrone, Evron Foods, Craigavon, county Armagh and Lynn's Country Foods of Downpatrick, county Down. Lynn's is the holding company of Finnebrogue Artisan, a leading supplier of sausages and venison to Marks and Spencer.
Other leading meat processors, Ballymena, county Antrim-based Doherty and Gray and Bawnbua of Lurgan, county Armagh are also listed in the survey.
The region's largest independent bakery, WD Irwin of Craigavon, county Armagh is also included in the list of growing companies.
Overall, companies within the UB 200 saw sales rise by over nine percent and pre-tax profits of £366 million and an increase in net worth up 35.2 per cent. The companies employ a total of 27,584 people.