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Future looks sweet for Macphie

Future looks sweet for Macphie

Independent food ingredient-maker Macphie of Glenbervie is set to unveil renewed expansion plans after a recent pick-up in sales.

Alastair Macphie, chief executive of the family-owned business, said the company would “accelerate” its expansion plans after seeing signs the economy had improved.

He said: “We feel the economy is picking up. We are starting to see a useful increase in sales and, as a result, we would like to get ahead of the game. Therefore our capital-investment programme has been accelerated.”

Last year, the company, which is headquartered on the family’s 2,000-acre Glenbervie Estate at Stonehaven, committed £3million to improve the company’s factories in Glenbervie and Tannochside, near Glasgow.

Mr Macphie said the company had already invested in enhancing its service division as well as its packaging equipment.

But the details of the next big improvement were now just being finalised.

“We have got some ambitious growth plans over the next three years,” said Mr Macphie.

“There is exciting news about what we will be installing next year.

“Sales continue to grow nicely this year. Further investment is envisaged in the next two to three years.”

The company’s newfound optimism comes after a year in which sales were flat.

The company had a turnover of £42.8million in the year to end of March 2013, according to accounts filed at Companies House.

Pre-tax profits declined slightly to £2million from £2.2million the previous year. However, in its statement, the company said there was a marginal increase in its operating profit to £3.5million.

The company was founded by Mr Macphie’s great-uncle in 1928 as a small bakery wholesale business in Glasgow.

Now, the company – one of the UK’s biggest independent food ingredient specialists – produces a wide range of cake mixes, icings and sweet and savoury sauces to bakers, caterers and food manufacturers.

And while the company is often associated with tempting arrays of cakes and pastries, its range of savoury sauces has been its fastest-growing product line in recent years.

Mr Macphie said: “We are predominantly business to business, providing a semi-finished product that will go with (our customers’) meat or vegetables. So 45% of what we do is in the sauce business.

“The consumer wants to take meat or fish and have a sauce in a sachet or a pot they can cook together.

“That has been a big growth area in the last couple of years.”