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New technology advances traditional skills

Posted: 26/09/2007

Retford based Mike Maloney Butchers have doubled the size of their business and won new contracts since moving production to larger premises. In order to keep up with demand and capture new business opportunities, the company had an urgent need to invest in new technology.

High levels of investment are a challenge for any business, so company director Alison Maloney got in touch with East Midlands New Technology Initiative (NTI), who specialise in providing matched funded grants for firms who want to improve their use of technology.

Maloney’s needed an advanced vacuum packer, plus a metal detector which had been specified by a client who markets a range of ready meals.

Alison said: “The new vacuum packer is an absolute boon. Aside from the efficiency and food safety aspects, it also means that we can cook meat in its own juices – no additives or flavouring – just excellent quality meat cooked naturally.

“Having the new technology was essential in helping us to service a major contract to supply local schools with meat, which is prepared using traditional methods by our own highly trained butchers. Supplying vulnerable sectors such as schools means that we must be 100% confident. New technology is vital to business – you must upgrade as you grow and that’s a very expensive process. The NTI grant made it possible for us to invest immediately. The support was great. They made it so easy and were really helpful – just excellent.

“A condition of having NTI funding is that you must commit to training, and we are about to start two of our team on a specialist food hygiene course at Nottingham Trent University. Training is a big benefit and this is a fast moving industry - you always need to train and retrain.”

Alison’s father, Mike Maloney, started the family business over 25 years ago with one retail shop. Now the business has grown to employ 35 people, three shops and a production facility where the company’s trained butchers hand prepare the meat.

The pork pies and sausage rolls are prepared to ancient recipes that have been handed down over generations. This is real food, where a dedicated team see the whole process through from start to finish.

Maloneys produce a wide food range, which includes gourmet ready meals and game pies, supplied to restaurants, hotels, bakeries, delis and farm shops under their own label of Farm Fresh. There is also an ever expanding bakery range and bespoke products for the home delivery market.

The company are proud holders of gold awards for their speciality sausages and pork pies, won recently at the Newark and Notts Show Robin Hood Championships. The award winning sausages will soon be supplied to six local ASDA stores.

So what does the future hold for Maloneys? Alison added: “When we first moved into this unit it seemed massive but now we’re squeezing into every corner. Next step is to build an extension and create new jobs. But one thing will never change – we’ll always honour the traditional ways of preparing fine quality food.”