Wilsons Feeds Ltd. - Expansion

Expansion

In the early 1950s Robert Wilson's son, E S Wilson, a popular provincial rugby player known as "Ted," became involved and, very quickly, realized that the future was in provender milling. He installed modern milling equipment and started to develop a direct sales strategy.

In 1964, an international management consulting company was engaged to advise on overall strategy and tactics. They concluded that modern systems of management should be installed and the direct market to farmers was the most dynamic route to expansion. To implement this decision, it was decided to recruit a management trainee who, on completing his/her training, would spearhead the policy for the future. It was felt that new thinking and energy were required as Ted Wilson had various other commercial interests which took up most of his time. During the next 12 years there was a stable period of growth aided by various purchases of smaller companies: the biggest and most influential of these purchasers was Wm Marshall& Co in 1974. This had the immediate result that manufacturing techniques had to be developed for the production of extruded dairy and beef products. A manufacturing arrangement was agreed with E T Green Ltd, part of the Rank Group. The Marshall takeover also meant that a number of excellent sales people joined Wilsons with the result that overall growth increased.

It was obvious that future development had to be supported by either major improvements at the present site or a new manufacturing facility. After careful consideration, it was decided to sell the premises at Great Patrick Street, Belfast, and build a new feed mill and office block in the Belfast Harbour Estate. Construction commenced in late 1978, was completed in 1979, and the new plant opened at the beginning of 1980. Robert Smith (Strabane) Ltd, a substantial country compounder, was taken over in August 1981 and thereafter sales expanded exponentially. Wilsons Feeds (Ireland) Ltd in Mullingar, County Westmeath was founded in 1966 and by now the group was the second largest compounder in Northern Ireland. Soon the Northern Road plant was at maximum output and a second mill was built at Dungannon, County Tyrone: Wilsons Feeds (Dungannon) Ltd. The group continued to grow both tonnage and profits.