Operations at Keiss abattoir suspended
LACK of trade has led to the mothballing of a Far North slaughterhouse and processing business.
The Caithness Beef and Lamb plant at Mid-Keiss, which opened just over two years ago, has been idle for two months.
Owner John Sutherland said a lack of throughput had forced him to suspend the operation, which employed 15.
He is hopeful the £5 million-plus plant, which replaced the long-established small abattoir run by the company in Wick, will reopen soon.
The slaughterhouse, built on the site of a redundant bus garage on the outskirts of Keiss, allowed Caithness farmers to finish their animals in their home county.
Last summer, half the workforce of 15 were put on short-time working while upgrading work was carried out.
Mr Sutherland was unable to say when the plant would reopen.
He said: "There’s just not enough throughput to open at the moment. I can’t say when it will start again but we’re looking at a number of different options."
Mr Sutherland said a cycle of closures of butchers’ businesses in the Far North has not helped his enterprise.