thought may have been suitable for
our application, but there was no one
to ask to obtain further clarification
and confirmation,” Richard continues.
“We had to learn as we went along to
put the plant together. For instance,
the four rotary cookers that we had
purchased with the site were not suitable for the manufacture of chunk in
jelly products because they would degrade the product.”
The site was a mix of buildings reflecting the expansion of the factory
through the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.
“There were a lot of poor areas, including the canning hall, so we demolished
it completely,” says Richard. “We
started from scratch. Money was an issue, and it would have been the cheaper
option to use existing buildings and
refurbish. But we knew that to achieve
the standards that the industry and pet
owners rightfully expect, we really
had to build a canning hall designed to
human food grade standards. All key
equipment was also purchased brand
Cambrian employee Andrew
Wright oversees the steam tunnel
into which the mixture of
ingredients is pumped before
being cut into chunks, combined
with gravy or jelly and canned.
new. And by applying previous lessons
learned, we made sure we built the hall
large enough to accommodate our next
two phases of expansion.”
With the assistance of a Welsh government grant, the company constructed a 60,000 square foot canning hall. It
took most of two years to get the plant
operational, but it was up and running
by July 2007. By the start of this year
production was settling in at around
300 cans a minute on a line with a capacity of 450 cans per minute.
Staying local
The Davies family operates its
business with a determination
to do all it can to boost the local
economy. Fit for humans
Cambrian’s new canning opera- Cambrian’s wet petfood is made with
tion lies in the valley of the river Towy, neighboring the headquar- Category Three ingredients—meaning ters in Pencader, Carmarthenshire, fit for human consumption—sourced UK. The family, which speaks Welsh from European Union-approved abat-
as its first language , is proud of its toirs in Wales and the rest of the UK.
roots.
“We’re using meat from local
abattoirs and poultry producers, which means we’re returning
revenue back into the area, and we
really do know our suppliers,” says
David Davies.
Gelert, the company’s registered
brand, is the name of a legendary
dog associated with the village of
Beddgelert (translated in Welsh as
Gelert’s Grave) in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. The story of Gelert is
a variation on a well-worn folktale,
the Faithful Hound, which even in
modern times lives on as an urban The company furnished its new canning
legend ( www.gelert-petnutrition. plant with all new equipment, including co.uk/story.html.) three PLC controlled retort cookers.
From these raw materials the company
manufactures products in four wet
formats: chunks in jelly, loaf in jelly,
chunks in gravy and all meat.
After careful inspection and metal
detection, mincing and emulsifying of
the raw materials, jelly and minerals
are added. The mixture is then pumped
through a steam tunnel and cut into
chunks. Gravy or jelly mix is added before the cans are sealed and then cooked
for one and a half to two hours. The
plant has three brand new PLC controlled retorts and space for four more. The
can handling system is fully automated.
“Aside from building the new canning hall and investing in the best
equipment, one of the best decisions
we took was to employ two high caliber
product development people—former
Nestlé and Pedigree personnel,” David
says. “This decision was critical because it really shortened the learning
curve, which reduced our R&D time by
up to 12 months. That knowledge is now
safely transferred onto our people, and
the net result is that we have brought
great quality products to the market far
quicker than would otherwise have been
possible.” These include Gelert branded
products as well as private label ones.
Pouches, holistic in the future
Future plans include increasing capacity at Llangadog threefold. “We have
learned from experience to look ahead
for the next five years,” says Richard.
