The Scottish Government's Food and Drink Processing Scheme distributes £6M
What's the deal? Twenty-eight Scottish food and drink businesses will share almost £6 million in capital funding through the Scottish GovernmentDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s Food and Drink Processing Scheme Scotland. More than £1.39 million goes to six firms across the Highlands, Moray and Western Isles.
Where's the money going? The largest Highland awards go to distilleries. Dornoch Distillery CompanyDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → will receive £366,045.92 for a whisky maturation warehouse and cask handling infrastructure, while North Uist DistilleryDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → secured £362,387.60 to build a local malting facility.
Organic Potato Growers ScotlandDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → gets £250,604.87 for automated sizing and sorting equipment. In Moray, Messrs WD Stephen & CoDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and Highland Eggs Scotland LtdDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → receive £234,872.50 and £126,927.83 respectively for automated grading and packing. Loch Ness Honey CompanyDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → receives £8,329.60 to automate extraction, filtering and jarring.
What it means. The grants aim to increase production, improve efficiency and support jobs. Projects range from specialist equipment to new processing facilities, automated lines and cold storage.
Why now? Scotland's food and drink industry records annual turnover of £19 billion, making it one of the country's significant economic sectors.
Economy Secretary Stephen Flynn said the grants "will support innovation, boost productivity and help create sustainable jobs in communities from North Uist and Moray to Dumfries and Galloway and the Borders."
The signal: For the Highlands and Islands, the funding is about keeping more production value within the region — whether malting barley in North Uist or maturing whisky in Dornoch. As Scotland Food and DrinkDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → chief executive Iain Baxter put it, the sector is "one of Scotland's biggest success stories."
Read more: The Highland Times
Image credit: yvescosentino
