Harbro celebrates 35 years in business
Harbro, which was founded in May 1977 has been celebrating 35 years of trading and is promoting the occasion with new delivery vehicles bearing a 35 year commemorative logo.
New delivery vehicles bear a 35 year commemorative logo
The company which is headquartered in Turriff, Aberdeenshire started trading locally, selling pig supplements, creep feeds and straights to the home-mix market and ruminant minerals for on farm use. Through acquisition and organic growth, the company now trades throughout Scotland and England in addition to a growing export market.
Graham Baxter, managing director said “We are extremely proud to have traded for 35 years and during that time, have marketed products with the ethos of quality livestock nutrition using quality raw materials. Our products are geared to livestock performance not cost, so the low quality raw material route is one we have never considered nor taken.”
Paying tribute to the company’s customers, Mr Baxter said “We would not be where are today without them, many of whom have traded with Harbro from the start and now the business continues with the second generation. We are also indebted to our loyal staff members who have all contributed to Harbro’s success.”
The company now manufactures a range of innovative feeds, supplements and feed additives for all species. It has led the market with the launch of its ‘Rumen Friendly’ feeds, a unique manufacturing and feeding concept designed to promote improved rumen health and increased digestibility.
“Harbro has an active involvement with cutting edge research and development, predominantly focused on animal health and feed efficiency” said Willie Thomson, technical director.
Recent key projects include an extensive study into the nutritional and management practices associated with acidosis in beef finishing cattle; this study is now the subject of a large scale three year project involving several leading universities, QMS and DairyCo which will further investigate the condition in beef and dairy cattle.
Other projects include the use of novel additives to improve feed efficiency, the use of alternative proteins for pigs, poultry and ruminants and studies into the prevalence and impact of the parasites, liver fluke and cryptosporidium.
“These projects are the key to improving health and performance which will ultimately help our customers maximise their returns,” said Mr Baxter.
Harbro has the capacity to manufacture 230,000 tonnes of feed from sites at Turriff, Mintlaw, Inverness, Riccall (Selby) and Birkhill, south Lanarkshire, where a state of the art mill completed in 2006 manufactures feed buckets, mineral licks and feed blocks.
A chain of 14 Country Stores retails feed for livestock, pets, poultry and equine plus animal health, equipment, clothing and footwear. The stores are located from Duns to Lerwick, including a new shop which opened in Perth in March 2012.