Inside Herefordshire fruit giant S&A Produce: Part 2

It supplies strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, goji berries and British asparagus to major UK retailers.

The firm began its astonishing growth in the 1990s when John Davies saw an opportunity to branch out from potato farming at Marden, near Hereford, into strawberry growing.

S&A now has two farms in Herefordshire, one in Wales and one in Kent, as well as producing asparagus from 70 hectares of land in Herefordshire.

It employs about 170 permanent staff and 1,400 guest workers housed in the firm's own on-site accommodation.

The Hereford Times was invited to visit its Brook Farm headquarters and learn more. This is the second of two special reports; the first can be found here. Both were produced in collaboration with S&A Produce, who funded part of the costs of production.

INSIDE S&A PRODUCE: Read our eight-page special here

This, in the firm's own words, is its story:

Our History

In the 1990s John Davies saw an opportunity to branch out from his traditional potato farming business to grow British strawberries on his farm in Herefordshire.

John’s passion for strawberries led the way for a new and pioneering approach to soft fruit growing.

S&A now has two farms in Herefordshire, one in Wales and one in Kent, as well as producing asparagus from 70 hectares of land in Herefordshire.

It is a global enterprise with operations in Spain and South America. But staying a family business is important to John, and in recent years his youngest son, Charlie, has joined the business and is currently director of operations in South America.

Today, although strawberries remain our core crop, we grow and import an ever-increasing range of fresh produce from our own farms, and growers across the world. This includes strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, goji berries and asparagus.

With our background as growers of premium fresh produce coupled with our control over the supply chain and our exacting quality standards, we aim to ensure we supply the freshest and best tasting produce all year round.

Our produce can be found on supermarket shelves across the UK.

Our Ethos

We believe in producing fresh, high-quality produce all year round that tastes delicious and doesn’t damage the environment.

With innovation at the heart of our business, we are on a mission to supply the best fresh soft fruits and asparagus on the market and delight consumers with taste, value for money and the simple joy of knowing where their food comes from.

Being independent allows us to operate in a different way to our competitors – we grow, pick, pack and transport our produce to our customers. This means we can be sure that our produce is fresh, tasty and natural, and we intend to keep it that way!

Our people are core to our business and we are proud of providing a working environment that allows people to live, grow and develop in all areas of the business. Today many who joined us as guest workers have gone on to become permanent members of our team.

We are proud to call rural Herefordshire our home and we do everything we can to protect the natural landscape and support our local communities.

Our People

We are a leading employer of about 170 permanent staff and more than 1,400 guest workers each year.

Job roles are diverse at S&A; they range from operational roles (pickers, packers, technical support and quality auditors) to administrative positions such as clerical, sales and marketing and managerial support staff across Herefordshire, Kent and Wales, as well as overseas.

More than 1,000 of our guest workers stay with us in our accommodation villages. We work hard to create pleasant surroundings and make all of our guest workers feel comfortable, while creating a community spirit through organising lots of activities to participate in, having regular parties and celebrations, and providing food and drink from our workers’ home countries.

We seek to employ, develop and retain the very best talent within our industry, and provide a friendly, supportive environment in which our employees flourish.

We aim to make working and living at our farms an enjoyable, worthwhile experience.

In doing so, we strive to offer a high standard of employment and accommodation to our guest workers, who we welcome from —all over the world. Our goal is a fair, transparent, low-cost recruitment process that gives people the opportunity to work and earn in the UK.

How we grow

We grow our berries using sustainable methods, including tabletop growing, state-of-the-art and energy-efficient environments, rain-water harvesting systems and natural pest control.

We are proud of our industry-leading programme in soft fruit breeding, which allows us to develop new and exciting varieties that will offer consumers great tasting and great value fruit every day.

Our fruit is picked, chilled and packed on-site using our refrigerated supply chain, guaranteeing maximum freshness and shelf-life.

Our investment in our growing technologies and packing facilities underpinned by our exacting quality standards allows us to supply premium quality fruit.

Harvesting

Picking our crops at the right time is important to maximise freshness and flavour.

That’s why we use the latest technology to check that we are picking premium produce every time.

Our pickers are expertly trained in how to handle and select the very best fruits. Each fruit is hand-picked and popped straight into a punnet with the lightest touch before being sent to the packhouse.

The fruit is quickly transferred to one of our packhouses, where it is chilled to about 4C to remove ‘field heat’.

This maintains freshness so customers receive fruit in the best possible condition.

Quality Control

As growers first and foremost, we have the expertise and passion for quality and excellence at all stages of growing, harvesting and distribution worldwide.

S&A Produce’s highly qualified and experienced Technical team use a Quality Assurance approach to guarantee consistency throughout the supply chain.

We employ trained and motivated guest workers to harvest our fruit, which is carefully selected and handpicked straight into their punnet to minimise handling.

The harvesting process is constantly monitored using state-of-the-art computer technology to optimise product

quality.

Anna Socha and Tomasz Cekala oversee the day-to-day running of the pack house. Picture: Rob Davies

The permanent workers

WHILE S&A Produce employs hundreds of guest workers from Europe who do not live in Britain all year round, others have made Herefordshire their permanent home.

Two workers who have started families in Herefordshire since first working at Brook Farm more than 10 years ago are Tomasz Cekala and Anna Socha.

The pair are responsible for the pack house’s operation, from the quality of the fruit to ensuring the packaging is right for the supermarket it is heading to.

Mr Cekala, 34, began working at S&A Produce at the start of the season in 2007, but in the 12 years since has worked up to being shift manager at the pack house.

“I started here in 2007. I came here for seasonal work to get some extra money in the summertime. First I was picking and then I ended up in the pack house,” he said.

“My job is to ensure that all the production is done, sent and delivered on time.

“I also have to take care of 200 people in the season as well. We have to plan all their days off, rotas, and make sure we fit in with the schedule of production.”

There have been plenty of changes at the company since Mr Cekala started, such as the technological development of the pack house.

“We’re improving every year. I can see there have been plenty of improvements since I started in 2007. I believe it is better.

He is concerned about the pressure Brexit is putting on people at the firm, but is philosophical.

“There’s not much you can do. we’ll see what happens,” he said.

Ms Socha, 36, is a production supervisor in the pack house, working with Mr Cekala, as she has done for several years, to ensure the safety of workers.

She has a four-year-old child, the same age as Mr Cekala’s.

“My story is quite similar to Tomasz,” she said. I came here just before him in 2006, also as a seasonal worker for a couple of months to earn some extra money.”

“I went back to Poland, but with the problems of trying to find a job I came back again and again until 2010 when I stayed permanently.

“I supervise the production team, the people on the lines, to make sure they are trained and safe in what they are doing.”

Both said S&A Produce was a big part of their lives, having worked there for so long.

Emma Downes and Jamie Thomas work in Finance at S&A Produce, and say they are looked after well by the company. Picture: Rob Davies

The office staff

ALONG with hundreds of guest workers, there is a hard-working group of office staff who keep S&A Produce ticking over all year round.

Six people keep the finance aspect of the business functioning all year round. They include Emma Downes, who got her first job in accounting at the business.

Ms Downes, 22, started working in reception in May 2016 and has since progressed into accounts after completing an accountancy course at college.

She now works as an accounting assistant at Brook Farm and helps to look after the purchases and expenses of the company.

“I always wanted to go into accounts, but I wasn’t sure how I would get there,” she said. “I moved into finance in late 2018 working part-time, and I worked in reception part-time as well.

“Then in August this year I moved full time into accounts.

“I do the invoicing side of accounts. I do the sales ledger and the sales of fruit.”

While her main responsibilities are handling purchases, there is always opportunities to learn other aspects of accounting.

Ms Downes said the company, for which she sees herself working for the foreseeable future, is patient when it comes to training.

“It is a really nice office environment,” she said. “It feels like a proper team. I’ve gone from reception, which is sort of working on your own, to being part of an office team.

“I had no experience in accounts, so they’ve trained me up, and taught me everything. They’re really good teachers.

“They eased me in gently and taught me. They’re really good colleagues. Even if you’re not the quickest learner, they’re patient.

“Hopefully, I’ll progress here and learn more things.”

Ms Downes said staff turnover in the office is low, something that is testament to the way the company looks after the staff.

When she was first employed by S&A Produce as a receptionist, she was surprised at how busy

the business was. She said that while it was good to have regular hours after a spell working in a hotel, there were many more enquiries than she expected.

“It was a lot busier than I thought, a lot more enquiries. I just didn’t realise how big the business was,” she said.

“We see that in accounts purely from the volume of invoices.”

S&A Produce workers taking part in local sporting events

Contribution to community life

THERE’S a side to S&A Produce that few people see.

The firm is passionate about being a good neighbour and playing a part in community life.

As such, it supports many local organisations through sponsorships, donations or simply lending a hand when it is needed.

Among those who have benefited are: St Michael’s Hospice, Hereford College of Arts, Leominster in Bloom, ECHO Leominster, Ivington Primary School, Growers United FC, Marden Football Club (seniors and juniors), Hereford Lions Club, Marden and Brierley villages, and the Mayor of Leominster’s charities.

Just last summer, for instance, the firm donated 1,500 punnets of strawberries to local schools, charities and organisations. It also spent more than 300 hours helping local schools, clubs, charities and villages.

S&A Produce is keen to stress the positive role that its guest workers play in local communities. For instance, they regularly take part in village litter picks, and their contribution to the Heart of England in Bloom competition helped Leominster clinch a Gold Award and Queen’s Award.

Guest workers are currently using their skills to refurbish a community pavilion in Leominster; they are collaborating with a county-wide charity in which they are encouraged to share cultures and traditions from their homeland, and they take part in sporting events arranged with other guest-worker communities in Herefordshire.

Their spending is an important element of the local economy. They travel to and shop in Herefordshire towns and local supermarkets, bringing their custom to rural bus services desperate for sufficient fares to maintain their viability.

Each year S&A works with a bus company to provide extra services for the community, including its own workers.

S&A Produce workers regularly take part in local litter-picks