Dawn Meats beefs up its French factories

Two beef factories operated by Elivia, the French processor part-owned by Dawn Meats, have applied for expanded environmental licences under the company’s €100m investment plan.

A public consultation will open on 27 February in Alençon, Normandy, where Elivia operates a beef and veal factory with 105 staff. Its kill capacity has recently increased from 80t to 90t carcase weight per day, and its boning and cutting capacity from 35t to 50t per day. The company is seeking permission to renovate the slaughtering hall and extend the lairage, waste storage and water treatment facilities.

Last month, French authorities in the Loire valley town of Cholet approved plans to increase the processing capacity of Elivia’s factory there from 20t to 70t carcase weight per day. The plant specialises in high-end beef products and employs around 130 staff.

The subsidiaries operating these two plants were among the many merged with Elivia under a corporate rationalisation plan implemented since Dawn Meats agreed to acquire 49% of Elivia from French co-op Terrena at the end of 2014. The transaction was completed in July 2015 and, while the Irish Farmers Journal understands that Dawn has left its stake unchanged since then, it still has an option to ramp up to 70% by 2019.

The biggest change is afoot in Angers, also in the Loire valley, where Elivia processes one-third of its cattle at France’s second-largest beef factory. The company is investing €30m in a complete overhaul of the plant, including automation and a new IT system. The project has secured a €3m French government grant and is due for completion at the end of this year.

Elivia returned to profit in 2015 after posting losses for the previous five years.