Feedwell Dog Food in Co Down says it has experienced record growth following a £750,000 investment which has led to the creation of six additional jobs.
The third generation family business is run by Jamie Clegg and his sister Vicky Dobbin.
It was founded in 1962 by their grandfather Jimmy Clegg with the aim of delivering high quality nutrition at affordable prices for all types of dogs, and its growing portfolio of products are all made in the family’s mill in Castlewellan.
Feedwell currently supplies the grocery, pet and agri sectors across Ireland and the UK servicing a host of large retailers including Jollyes, Pets at Home, Tesco, BWG, Hendersons and hundreds of independent stores.
The six-figure investment included a new state-of-the-art production line, doubling Feedwell’s capacity; a controller system to help improve product quality and overall plant efficiency; and different automated bagging systems.
Managing director Jamie Clegg said: “As the only manufacturer of dried dog food in Northern Ireland, we carefully honour over 60 years of heritage whilst growing the business and unlocking the potential opportunities for Feedwell.
“In the last 12 months we have seen volume growth of 25% and we are consistently seeing quarter on quarter growth.
“We have created six new jobs to support this across a range of departments including factory staff, sales and administration as well as our first appointment in GB with a business development manager who covers Scotland and the north of England.
“In a relatively short period of time, we have already experienced impressive growth in this new market and we see this continuing over the next number of years as we build our customer base.”
Vicky Dobbin, financial director at Feedwell, added: “Manufacturing and nutrition are key to what makes our products unique. We have control of every aspect of the manufacturing process from choosing our quality raw materials through to the final sale ensuring traceability.
“We are confident our high quality product portfolio, combined with this substantial investment and the additions to our highly-experienced team will ensure we are well placed for continued commercial growth and further strengthening of our position in the competitive pet food market.”
