Cooke Inc. has announced that it has acquired a former Skretting fish feed mill in Invergordon, Scotland.
The mill, which Cooke has used to establish “Northeast Nutrition Scotland Limited,” previously produced fish feed for aquaculture companies in Scotland. The newly acquired facility will now manufacture fish feed for both Cooke Aquaculture Scotland Limited – a salmon producer in the Shetland and Orkney Islands in Scotland – and the U.K. mainland.
“All of our salmon is reared using feeds that are manufactured in compliance with the highest standards for animal feed safety,” Glenn Cooke, CEO of Cooke Inc., said in a press release announcing the acquisition. “We are excited to include domestic feed manufacturing in Scotland, adding to the vertical integration of our operations and further enhancing the full traceability of our fish.”
According to Cooke, Skretting announced its plans to cease manufacturing activities in the U.K. in November 2018. Shortly after, in April 2019, the company closed the Invergordon facility. Cooke said it plans to work with employees affected by the closure to resume operations at the mill.
“We are thrilled to be in a position to offer new opportunities to those employees and have an engaged and experienced team in place from day one,” Chris Bryden, mill manager, said. “As a rural coastal community, Invergordon has a population of approximately 4,000 residents. Joining the Cooke family of companies provides us with the opportunity to keep Scottish jobs and be an important part of a globally respected growing seafood leader.”
This isn’t the first time that Cooke has purchased a feed company. Back in 2017, Cooke Inc. purchased Omega Protein, a Virginia, U.S.A.-based company that produces fish oil and fishmeal.
Photo courtesy of Cooke Inc.
