A grower partnership run by Minor Weir and Willis is going from strength to strength with the company pledging to increase its growing activity in the UK.
Last year six growers were brought together and all of them increased their turnover and benefited from work to extend the seasons and improve reliability of supply, MWW said.
The supplier handles the commercial agreements with supermarkets directly, leaving its growers in Worcestershire’s Severn Valley to concentrate on production and share their knowledge.
Simon Barnett, growing manager at the supplier, said the company bought its first plot of land last year and intends to continue to invest in the grower partnership.
“Between our six members and our own land, we now have in excess of 2,000 acres within a fifteen mile area of Worcestershire, with packing focussed around a central hub from which much of our product is packed and distributed,” he said.
The partnership produces more than 10 different products, from salad onions and peas and beans to chillies, courgettes and asparagus.
It is also looking at extending into non-traditional areas, such as Pak Choi, and the sugar snap pea, which has become a staple part of its supply to the UK School Fruit and Vegetable scheme. As a key partner in the initiative it delivers produce to over 300,000 key stage one pupils at 2,000 schools.
By growing new products and extending the seasons, MWW has also reduced its carbon footprint and its reliance on imports.
In the last 10 years the company has expanded rapidly to become a major European Food Group, with operations in Holland, Spain and Germany.
It recently invested in a £500,000 salad onion packing line, as well as packing and agricultural machinery and employs more than 240 people at its Birmingham headquarters.
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