RCMA Group Invests £25m in Stratford-upon-Avon
Construction of rapeseed processing plant creates more than 30 jobs locally
London, United Kingdom, 6 June 2017 - Independent commodities trading and supply chain company, RCMA Group, today announced it is constructing a state-of-the-art rapeseed processing plant in Atherstone on Stour, near Stratford-upon-Avon, investing £25m in the project and creating in excess of 30 local jobs. The new facility will be operational in the autumn of 2017 to process an annual seed crush of 100,000 tonnes, producing 40,000 tonnes of refined edible oil. It will process 100% UK-grown seed to meet growing demand from UK buyers for a fully traceable supply chain, producing high quality ingredients for the food industry.
The innovative agro-energy business will be a biomass-fuelled Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant enabling RCMA Stratford to be one of the most energy-efficient producers in the UK, generating its own heat and power from UK forestry residues and offcuts. Locating the operation in the heart of the country reduces transportation requirements for raw materials and finished products, which will also include high-quality protein-protected rape cake for animal feedstuffs. “We are delighted that our most significant investment in the UK to date will be in Stratford, as the central location makes perfect sense,” said RCMA CEO, Chris Pardey.
RCMA is already developing strong partnerships locally. Along with its civil engineering contractor, Dawnus, RCMA is supporting local charity, Forest of Hearts, which is developing a sustainable forest garden in Stratford, with a focus on conservation and bio-diversity. “We chose to support Forest of Hearts because of our shared values around environmental protection,” commented RCMA Operations Director, John Patching. “The charity’s activities - providing an accessible outdoor space for children and people with disabilities, focused on growing and conserving UK species, as well as creating a circular economy by growing and distributing produce in the Stratford area – align extremely well with our corporate philosophy. We are delighted to be able to assist by providing engineering and landscaping know-how as well as a financial contribution to the project.”
Forest of Hearts founder, Carole Longden said, “It is wonderful that RCMA and Dawnus have generously agreed to support Forest of Hearts in this way. Their support with site preparation such as the creation of footpaths, car park and pond has made a massive difference to the speed at which we
are able to progress the project and we are extremely grateful to both companies for helping us to
create this new facility for the people of Stratford.”
ABOUT THE RCMA GROUP
The RCMA Group is an independent commodities trading and supply chain group with over 230 years of history in the commodity markets. The strength of its commodity heritage, combined with the expertise of its global teams and vast network of local operators, enable RCMA to deliver unrivalled value with a local touch to clients globally. The Group is active in the polymer, cotton, sugar, coffee, vegetable oils, energy and electricity retailing markets. The RCMA Group ships more than 1 million metric tons worldwide and is headquartered in Singapore, with a growing presence in the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Americas and Africa. We have over 250 employees across our 18 global locations.
