Foster congratulates Elmgrove Foods on Queen's Award for Enterprise

Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster has commended Elmgrove Foods Limited on achieving the Queen's Award for Enterprise, the UK's most prestigious award for business performance.



Speaking during a reception at Hillsborough Castle hosted by the Lord-Lieutenant for County Tyrone, Arlene Foster said: "The agri-food sector is central to the Northern Ireland economy and Elmgrove Foods is one of our most dynamic and progressive companies.



"The firm is an impressive role model of a small company which has been developing a reputation for producing quality products, which not only meet, but exceed client expectations. Its award recognises the company's commitment to exporting innovative products to customers across the world.



"The meat sector will continue to be important for the economic development of Northern Ireland. It is an important part of the agri-food industry which sustains up to 92,000 jobs, and represents around 20% of total private sector employment. Elmgrove's ethos of using the whole animal mirrors the priorities identified in the Agri Food Board's strategy for the future growth and development of the sector.



"Its continued success in the Far East, Africa and mainland Europe reflects positively on the local Agri Food sector. The company plans to build on this, targeting business in new export markets with the support of Invest Northern Ireland."



Stuart Dobson, Managing Director of Elmgrove Foods Limited said: "We're extremely proud to receive the Queen's Award for International Trade. The Queen's Awards are widely recognised as the showcase for the United Kingdom's most dynamic companies and is the direct result of the team working closely with customers and suppliers in developing innovative products and in providing excellent sales support.



"We are working with Invest NI to implement a sales and marketing strategy to help us expand into new markets, such as the Philippines and Thailand, and plan to recruit a new Sales Executive and a Translation Support Assistant to help maximise these opportunities."



Pic Caption: Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster and Lord-Lieutenant of Tyrone Robert Scott congratulate Elmgrove Foods Managing Director Stuart Dobson and Marketing Executive Elaine Dobson on achieving The Queen's Award for Enterprise at a reception at Hillsborough Castle. The Award - the first for a company in Northern Ireland's agri-food sector - is in recognition of the creation and exporting of a range of innovative beef, lamb and pork offal products to a global market.