Top Irish poultry brand, Manor Farm, has handed its pallet pool contract to leading European pallet pooler, LPR. The contract will see LPR manage all pallet movements for the company's production of around 850,000 birds per week at its modern processing facility in the heart of County Cavan, Ireland.
Founded in 1775, Manor Farm parent company, Carton Brothers, laid the foundations for the current chicken industry, introducing modern packaged chickens to Irish stores in the 1950s. The company supplies Irish customers from all the major supermarkets, local stores and butchers, as well as exporting abroad.
John O'Brien, production manager at Carton Brothers, comments: "Working with LPR was a simple choice. They have an in-depth knowledge of the sector and a strong understanding of our business model - how we work with both our suppliers and our customers to deliver more than half a million birds a week to dinner tables across Ireland and around the world.
"We're a family firm and we wanted a logistics partner that had strong values - LPR fits the bill. Their friendly staff, flexible approach, simple pricing structure and the lack of hidden costs makes it very easy to do business with them; they are just more competitive than others. And, it goes without saying, their pallet quality is superb."
LPR is working across Manor Farm's supply chain to reduce administration of the pallet pool for the Manor Farm team, undertaking all pallet collections from retailer distribution centres, sorting every pallet every trip and carrying out repairs where required.
Jane Gorick, managing director of LPR adds: "We're really pleased to be able to offer Manor Farm a quality of service to complement their own focus on customer satisfaction. As a dedicated FMCG supplier, we understand the issues faced in the retail supply chain and deliver efficiencies and savings both above and below the line. We're looking forward to developing a long-term partnership with Manor Farm which sees continual improvements to both internal processes and environmental performance."
Carton Brothers is run by the eighth generation of the Carton family, directly employs 650 people and contracts to a further 150 farmers, as well as giving indirect employment to many more throughout the 26 Irish counties. Manor Farm is fully integrated and has control over its own feed mill, growing farms, hatchery and production plant - all based in Ireland. The production plant at Shercock has recently completed a major €13m overhaul and is now one of the most modern and sophisticated in Europe.