Further growth for Shropshire salad farmer

PDM Produce, founded in 1991, farms and packs a range of salad leaves for some of the UK’s largest grocers and supermarkets, along with additional food service and wholesaler customers.

During the winter months, the firm works with farmers across the continent to import salad varieties to supplement its own produce to meet the year-round consumer demand.

As consumers are becoming increasingly health conscious, PDM Produce’s market has grown correspondingly. To meet this demand, the management team turned to Lloyds Bank to help support the development of a new 50,000sq.ft site on their farm.

An advanced salad cold store will be installed alongside new equipment, which will increase the efficiency of the packaging process. This will allow the firm to continue to diversify its salad range, as the machines can package multiple leaf types. In the long term, the wider choice of salad products the firm can offer will attract new customers.

The building will incorporate technology that will help the business develop its environmental and energy management.

The new site is set to open at the end of this year, creating 50 new jobs and bringing the total headcount to 625 during the peak summer months.

Philip Maddocks, chief executive officer at PDM Produce, said: “With more and more people making healthy decisions, we’ve seen huge growth in our now £60m business. Salad is a big part of the modern day diet, and the machines we’re installing in the new site, along with the incredibly fertile Shropshire land, will allow us to keep up with contemporary trends.

“Lloyds Bank has a full understanding of the farming industry, and has provided us with the financial support we need to take these steps to equip us for further growth in the future.”

Chris Pennick, relationship director for mid-markets at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “PDM Produce is an ambitious firm at the heart of the salad industry in the UK. The team’s specialist attitude to both growing the crops supplemented by working with trusted farmers in Italy and Spain during the winter months, means they have a high level of customer trust. The new site will allow them to continue delivering to this increased demand.

“Through the loan Lloyds Bank has provided, PDM Produce will continue to help Britain prosper and deliver growth to a third generation of local Shropshire farmers.”