Pork Farms
Encyclopedia
Pork Farms is a Nottingham
-based British
producer and distributor of mainly pork
-based bakery
products.
qualified baker
Ken Parr took out a £9,000 loan to set up his own pie shop
. He developed a reputation founded on good baking, and developed the first "original" pork pie
based on an old recipe, with signature dark and crispy pastry. He then bought another local pie shop, founded in 1931 which traded under the name Pork Farms, which he adopted for all shops after that.
In the mid-1960s, Parr's business was bought by food tycoon W. Garfield Weston
, who made Parr Chairman. In 1969, rival Nottingham pie company TN Parr, formerly owned by Parr’s uncle but then by Samworth Brothers
, bought out Pork Farms, again bringing together the two companies together under the Pork Farms brand. In 1972, Pork Farms bought rival Holland's Pies
. In 1971, the group was floated on the London Stock Exchange
as Pork Farms plc.
In 1974, Pork Farms and Northern Foods
created joint venture company Porkdown Ltd, to supply meat products to French
foods group Danone. But immediately after production started, Danone undertook a group wide-review, and on deciding to concentrate on their milk
-based products line, closed down the contract. The resultant losses closed Porkdown, and in 1978 lead to the agreed sale of Pork Farms to Northern Foods, after the Samworth family agreed sale of their shares to the group. Later merged by Northern with both Palethorpes
of Market Drayton
and Bowyers
of Trowbridge
, Wiltshire
, to form Pork Farms Bowyers, the company sold the Bowyers and Palethorpes pork sausage business and brands to Kerry Group
in 2001, to concentrate on baked meat products.
laws focusing on the need to produce Melton Mowbray Pork Pies within a defined distance of Melton Mowbray
, the company chose to close the Trowbridge plant and invest £12million into the Nottingham plant to increase Melton Mowbray Pork Pie production. Today the company employs over 2,000 people at four locations, in Nottingham, Market Drayton and Shaftesbury
.
Pork Farms has doubled the capacity of their data capture system at their Queens Drive manufacturing site and all quality paperwork has now been removed from the production process. CCP, QC and QA results are electronically captured and monitored by their data capture system.
Pork Farms is marking its 80th anniversary with a £1m relaunch and a new range of slices. The new packaging is designed to flag up the company's heritage it carries the straplines 'Making & Baking since 1931' and 'Butchers, Bakers, Master Piemakers'.
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
-based British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
producer and distributor of mainly pork
Pork
Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....
-based bakery
Bakery
A bakery is an establishment which produces and sells flour-based food baked in an oven such as bread, cakes, pastries and pies. Some retail bakeries are also cafés, serving coffee and tea to customers who wish to consume the baked goods on the premises.-See also:*Baker*Cake...
products.
History
In the early 1940s, recently City and GuildsCity and Guilds of London Institute
The City and Guilds of London Institute is a leading United Kingdom vocational education organisation. City & Guilds offers more than 500 qualifications over the whole range of industry sectors through 8500 colleges and training providers in 81 countries worldwide...
qualified baker
Baker
A baker is someone who bakes and sells bread, Cakes and similar foods may also be produced, as the traditional boundaries between what is produced by a baker as opposed to a pastry chef have blurred in recent decades...
Ken Parr took out a £9,000 loan to set up his own pie shop
Pie shop
A pie shop is a take away outlet specialising in pies, especially meat pies. Common in some parts of the United Kingdom and Australia....
. He developed a reputation founded on good baking, and developed the first "original" pork pie
Pork pie
A pork pie is a traditional British meat pie. It consists of roughly chopped pork and pork jelly sealed in a hot water crust pastry . It is normally eaten cold as a snack or as part of a meal.-Types:...
based on an old recipe, with signature dark and crispy pastry. He then bought another local pie shop, founded in 1931 which traded under the name Pork Farms, which he adopted for all shops after that.
In the mid-1960s, Parr's business was bought by food tycoon W. Garfield Weston
W. Garfield Weston
Willard Garfield Weston, OC, , Canadian businessman and philanthropist, led George Weston Limited and its various subsidiaries and associated companies, including Associated British Foods, for half a century and established one of the world's largest food processing and distribution concerns...
, who made Parr Chairman. In 1969, rival Nottingham pie company TN Parr, formerly owned by Parr’s uncle but then by Samworth Brothers
Samworth Brothers
Samworth Brothers are a Leicestershire-based food manufacturer, the owner of Cornish pasty maker Ginsters, and the largest maker of certified Melton Mowbray pork pies. It is listed at number four in The Times Top Track 250.-History:...
, bought out Pork Farms, again bringing together the two companies together under the Pork Farms brand. In 1972, Pork Farms bought rival Holland's Pies
Holland's Pies
Holland's Pies is a manufacturer of pies and puddings based in Baxenden, near Accrington in Lancashire, England. Owned by Northern Foods, the company also produce pasties, sausage rolls and pork pies.- History :...
. In 1971, the group was floated on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
as Pork Farms plc.
In 1974, Pork Farms and Northern Foods
Northern Foods
Northern Foods Ltd is a British food manufacturer headquartered in Leeds, England. It was formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE SmallCap Index. The company was scheduled to merge with Greencore Group in 2011 to form Essenta Foods, the group being...
created joint venture company Porkdown Ltd, to supply meat products to French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
foods group Danone. But immediately after production started, Danone undertook a group wide-review, and on deciding to concentrate on their milk
Milk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
-based products line, closed down the contract. The resultant losses closed Porkdown, and in 1978 lead to the agreed sale of Pork Farms to Northern Foods, after the Samworth family agreed sale of their shares to the group. Later merged by Northern with both Palethorpes
Palethorpes
Palethorpe's is a British producer of cooked meat and pastry products and was particularly well known for its branded sausages. Founded in 1859, it was bought by the Bibby Group in 1969 and then by Haverhill Meat Products before becoming part of the Northern Foods Chilled Foods division in 1991...
of Market Drayton
Market Drayton
Market Drayton is a small market town in north Shropshire, England. It is on the River Tern, between Shrewsbury and Stoke-on-Trent, and was formerly known as "Drayton in Hales" and earlier simply as "Drayton" ....
and Bowyers
Bowyers
Bowyers was a large company based in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England, based manufacturer of meat products, with a particularly well known brand of sausages which are still produced today....
of Trowbridge
Trowbridge
Trowbridge is the county town of Wiltshire, England, situated on the River Biss in the west of the county, approximately 12 miles southeast of Bath, Somerset....
, Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, to form Pork Farms Bowyers, the company sold the Bowyers and Palethorpes pork sausage business and brands to Kerry Group
Kerry Group
Kerry Group , is a public food company headquartered in Ireland. It is quoted on the Dublin ISEQ and London stock exchanges. It evolved initially from a local dairy co-op in the Munster region of Ireland...
in 2001, to concentrate on baked meat products.
Present
Bought by Vision Capital in 2007, with European UnionEuropean Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
laws focusing on the need to produce Melton Mowbray Pork Pies within a defined distance of Melton Mowbray
Melton Mowbray
Melton Mowbray is a town in the Melton borough of Leicestershire, England. It is to the northeast of Leicester, and southeast of Nottingham...
, the company chose to close the Trowbridge plant and invest £12million into the Nottingham plant to increase Melton Mowbray Pork Pie production. Today the company employs over 2,000 people at four locations, in Nottingham, Market Drayton and Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury is a town in Dorset, England, situated on the A30 road near the Wiltshire border 20 miles west of Salisbury. The town is built 718 feet above sea level on the side of a chalk and greensand hill, which is part of Cranborne Chase, the only significant hilltop settlement in Dorset...
.
Pork Farms has doubled the capacity of their data capture system at their Queens Drive manufacturing site and all quality paperwork has now been removed from the production process. CCP, QC and QA results are electronically captured and monitored by their data capture system.
Pork Farms is marking its 80th anniversary with a £1m relaunch and a new range of slices. The new packaging is designed to flag up the company's heritage it carries the straplines 'Making & Baking since 1931' and 'Butchers, Bakers, Master Piemakers'.