Friday 20th February 2009

Charitable Farewell To Brian Pack

Brian Pack OBE will stand down from his post as Chief Executive of ANM Group at the end of April and in recognition of his work a charity dinner dance will be held in Thainstone Exchange on May 16.

This will be a chance to mark the achievements of Mr Pack during his time at ANM Group and it is hoped that there will be strong support from all those who have worked with Brian during his career with ANM.  All proceeds will go to charities of Mr Pack’s choice, principally the Anchor Unit.

A committee, chaired by Group vice-chairman David Brown has been formed to organise the event.

Full details of the evening will be released in mid-March just before the tickets will be available for purchase.

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Thursday 5th February 2009

New Chief Executive Of Group Announced

ANM Group Board today announced the appointment of Alan Craig to succeed Brian Pack as CEO.  Brian announced in the autumn that he was to retire at the end of April.

Alan (46 years old) is currently General Manager of ABP Scotland, a business he has steered and successfully restructured since taking over as General Manager in 2002.  Alan has spent all his working life in the meat industry since starting as an apprentice butcher on leaving school.  From these humble beginnings he has risen steadily through the industry and has successfully carried out a wide variety of roles and is passionate about the whole red meat industry and the opportunities for the future.

John McIntosh, Chairman of ANM Group, said that the Board were delighted to have recruited someone of Alan’s ability, energy and experience to lead the Group forward.  John went on to say that “we had an excellent field of candidates from which to choose after an exhaustive search of the UK and beyond.  However, Alan stood out as a natural leader with vision and a proven track record in an area central to the Group and first hand experience of livestock auctions and farmer procurement groups as a customer.  I have no doubt that the Group’s excellent staff and management team will enjoy working with Alan to take the Group forward in these challenging times”.

Alan Craig said that he was delighted to have been chosen for such an important position within the Scottish livestock industry.  “I am really looking forward to getting started and developing a full understanding of the Group in all its aspects and building on its strong financial base and excellent staff.  I fully appreciate the importance of the Group to the Scottish agricultural industry and look forward to playing my part.”

Alan Craig currently lives in Fife with his wife and four children.  Over the years he has been involved in many industry bodies and initiatives and takes over as President of the Scottish Meat Wholesalers in April.

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Tuesday 3rd February 2009

ANM Group Chief Executive Addresses Society

Cull cows and dairy origin beef could be vital supplies of beef: that is the conclusion of Brian Pack, Chief Executive of ANM Group ltd. 

Speaking at the 50th Annual Conference of the Ulster Grassland Society in Belfast, Mr Pack put forward to delegates his views of the beef industry, highlighting the current decline in the UK prime beef market and the re-balance in overall beef production from over thirty month animals, in particular cull cows. 

ANM Group, through two of its companies, Aberdeen & Northern Marts and abattoir business, Scotch Premier Meat ltd, is involved in many aspects of the industry and this gives the firm a holistic view of beef production.

In his speech Mr Pack highlighted the challenges facing the industry with the decrease in stock numbers and, in particular, the decline in UK prime beef production over the past few years.  He also stressed that both breeders and those further along the beef supply chain should view the cull cow, not as a waste product, but a commodity which should be “well produced and marketed – an important role for the auction mart – not only in terms of the individual’s profitability, but for the overall supply of beef.”

With regard to dairy origin beef, Mr Pack noted that dairy calf registrations had risen greatly in the past few months, due largely to the price of grain making cereal beef more profitable.  He suggested that a beef cross animal out of a dairy cow produced in the traditional fashion, and slaughtered at around 20 months, could help alleviate supply problems.

Backing this viewpoint, Mr Pack pointed to the Northern Ireland Red Meat Industry Taskforce Report.  One of the key findings of this report suggests that the suckler origin beef model cannot provide full economic returns regardless of production efficiency.  Mr Pack explained how he appreciates the superb end product the suckler model gives, in addition to the image and environmental benefits of the method, but he has reservations about the economic returns offered.   He added that he was keen to see suckler beef production preserved and subsidised directly but that this should be balanced against increased efficiency and that producers should not get “trapped back in the numbers game.”

Mr Pack also commented on the current jargon of ‘value with values’, suggesting that whilst consumers are feeling the pinch, there is still a desire to buy produce which has farm assurance, has been reared under strict welfare standards and has providence, particularly local. 

This is reflected in the figures quoted from the comparable 12 weeks ending November 2, 2008, which showed beef roasting cuts’ sales had fallen by 15.8% whilst mince sales had risen by 5.7% with overall volume of beef consumed down 2%.

Wholesale customers of Scotch Premier Meat, generally suppliers to restaurants, have, reported Mr Pack, also felt the effects of the current financial state with the abattoir business reporting the hitherto unprecedented situation of a surplus of fillets.  He explained that demand had switched to forequarter cuts and anything under £3 per kilogram which has resulted in a shift in carcase value with the forequarter increasing from 30 per cent of total value to around 40 per cent.

The slowdown in the economy and the rate of Sterling against the Euro has brought benefits to the UK livestock industry including Scotch Premier Meat and Mr Pack was keen to stress that the company have seized upon the favourable rate for exports.  He pointed to the fact that the UK very quickly moved from having one of the highest cattle prices in Euros per kilogram deadweight in Europe to one of the lowest against the UK price in pence per kilogram deadweight rising steadily over the same period. 

However, Mr Pack also explained that he had understanding of the grief felt in the Irish Republic where producers were experiencing the reverse of UK farmers with regard to export.

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