Dunbia, a subsidiary of Dawn Meats, has been hailed as the Food Producer of the Year at a recent Welsh awards ceremony, highlighting the processor's growing presence across the UK.

The title was awarded to Dunbia at the Wales Food and Drink Awards on Friday, April 17, held at the Swansea Building Society Arena.

Since setting up in the region more than 30 years ago, Dunbia said it now employs over 1,500 people at its Welsh facilities.

The company outlined that it is continuing its commitment to investing in "state-of-the-art facilities to maintain its position as an industry leader and respond to evolving customer demands".

The company's two major Welsh processing sites are in Cross Hands and Llanybydder, with the facilities in operation since 1992 and 1956 respectively.

Wales

According to Dunbia, significant investment, supported by the Welsh government, has enhanced "efficiency, sustainability and product quality at the two Welsh facilities.

At Llanybydder, advanced processing systems have been put in place to provide real-time yield recording and full traceability, with capacity to process up to 20,000 lambs and 1,000 cattle per week.

In addition to this, Dunbia noted that it has established "strong partnerships" with local farmers to support a sustainable supply chain, with tailored programmes in place aiming to reduce carbon footprints and improve environmental performance.

Other recent upgrades include improvements to the lamb abattoir and refrigeration systems, a new boning line, a £5 million investment in water treatment and the installation of an air source heat pump, which is expected to reduce heating-related carbon dioxide emissions by over 58%.

Moving over to the Cross Hands site, Dunbia is also investing in technology and innovation to support "advanced product development, retail packing and added-value operations" at the site, which now processes up to 1,000t of red meat weekly.

Dunbia

Lee Headington, who is the regional financial controller at Dunbia, expressed the company's gratitude for winning Welsh food producer of the year.

He said: "We are grateful to our Welsh farmer suppliers and local employees who have worked with us since we first established ourselves in Wales over 30 years ago.

"This award reinforces our commitment to excellence and our strong roots in the Welsh food industry.

"Our mission is to showcase the exceptional quality of Welsh beef and lamb to the world and today our products reach over 20 international markets placing it as a flagship example of the craftsmanship, heritage, and flavour that define our industry in Wales," Headington commented.