We are pleased to announce that the business of A.J. Allan has been acquired by Irish Potato Marketing Ltd (IPM). The business comprises two companies: A.J. Allan (Brechin) Limited and A.J. Allan (Potato Merchants) Limited.
IPM is a leading player in the seed potato industry with a portfolio of over 25 exclusive proprietary varieties which are sold in more than 30 markets worldwide. IPM has been trading for over 50 years and is a subsidiary company of Donegal Creameries Plc.
A.J. Allan has been in the ownership of the Allan family for 50 years and IPM is pleased to add such a distinguished company to its business portfolio. IPM is keen to build on the strengths of A.J. Allan in growing quality seed potatoes and, in that regard, A.J. Allan will enhance IPM’s ability to meet the growing demand for its exclusive varieties. Scottish seed potato production currently enjoys a very strong reputation with global customers and the combination of IPM and A.J. Allan certainly has an optimistic future in meeting a growing customer demand for improved varieties and efficiently-produced quality certified seed.
IPM is the largest exporter of proprietary seed potatoes from Scotland and also has seed production operations in Ireland, Holland, France, Denmark and Brazil. Its Scottish office is in Letham and the sales operation is co-ordinated from the Head Office in Dublin.
Mr. Alistair Melrose and his team will continue to manage the business as usual under the A.J. Allan brand.
David Allan, the retiring Chairman and former principal shareholder, confirming the sale of a hundred per cent of the share capital of the two Companies to IPM, said “While the severing of the family tie with the business clearly creates mixed emotions, I am delighted that the Companies and the brand name will continue within the Donegal Group. To have found a buyer as committed to seed potato production as we have been and with a desire to preserve and develop the brand has been a distinct bonus. A.J. Allan as a business entity was founded by my father the late A.J. Allan some fifty years ago and has been a substantial employer in the Brechin area ever since. From the mid 1990s onwards the Company has been expanded hugely in terms of turnover, customer base and capacity and the linkage with a company such as IPM has the potential to propel both organisations to another level. I wish to take this opportunity to convey my thanks to my Managing Director, Mr. Alistair Melrose, and all our staff for their loyalty and commitment over the years and I wish them well in the future as part of the Donegal Group.”
THREE NEW members have been appointed to the Potato Council’s board by its governing body, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board.
Scottish seed potato specialist, Alistair Melrose, managing director of AJ Allan, Brechin, will be joined on the board by Anthony Carroll, Carroll’s Heritage Potatoes, and Zoe Henderson, an independent member.
“Both Anthony and Alistair are well known to us and the industry having already served on our advisory committees,” said Allan Stevenson, chairman of the Potato Council. “And, Zoe’s wealth of experience in agricultural marketing will help us capitalise on the consumer benefits offered by potatoes.”
Alistair Melrose promoting Potatoes in Practice 2011
A York firm that fits solar panels has been prosecuted after an employee fell four metres through the fragile roof of a pig shed at an East Yorkshire farm.
This consultative document invites views on the revised Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) L24 – “Workplace health, safety and welfare”. The consultation aims to establish if the changes make it easier for employers to understand and meet their legal obligations. The consultation began on 7 May and will close on 30 July.
A North Yorkshire farmer died when he was crushed under a half-tonne roller shutter door that had been badly installed, a court has heard today (16 April).
As concerns over pesticides such as neonicotinoids grow, SRUC is to work with the James Hutton Institute on a new research programme looking into ways of activating a plant’s natural defences instead.
