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Home > News > Driving down production costs

Driving down production costs

With the salad industry coming under mounting price pressure – Tom Salmon believes having the right cost base is fundamental to survival. “There is no premium for UK product,” he says.  Indeed, he believes the vast majority of UK consumers are driven primarily by quality, availability and price.

Aiming to get the very best out of what the company has, the directors are constantly striving to improve efficiency and drive down costs. “By continually following costs through the production process, reviewing the situation and implementing changes we reduce them to the lowest point,” he says.

As an example, 80% of the cucumber crop is now grown using Agrofoam and Griner foam  - rather than rockwool.  While costing approximately double, the foam initially created its own management challenges.  However, with effective sterilization and careful handling, it can be reused over ten years ultimately yielding huge savings in replacement and disposal costs. 

Having tracked costs closely, Tom Salmon estimates the labour content for the year round production unit has increased by 30-35%.  Situated close to Kingston-upon-Hull, Hedon benefits from have a ready pool of Eastern European workers on its doorstep.   

Employing predominantly Polish, Estonian and Latvian workers, the company has Investors in People accreditation and through providing a good training programme and treating staff well aims to foster good relationships with these communities.