News / Whalsay factory should reopen in August
HOPES are high that 50 people on the Shetland island of Whalsay will get their fish factory jobs back in 10 weeks after the local authority yesterday (Wednesday) gave their employer a four month holiday from repaying a £600,000 loan.
Whalsay Fish Processors closed at the end of April after the world price of salmon soared due to the shortage of fish brought on by the extremely cold European winter and outbreaks of disease in Chile.
Yesterday Shetland Islands Council’s development committee agreed to the company’s request for a four month moratorium on paying back the loan, 85 per cent of which is still outstanding.
Frank Johnson, a partner in the factory’s new owners SCAF Ltd, said they were developing two new products which could give the factory a new lease of life.
He said both new products would involve importing frozen salmon and he hoped production could start in August.
“We started work on one of these in November and the other in February so we are a good piece down the road with them,” he said.
The company took over the factory last year and received a £610,000 loan from the council in July. However the business had been running at a loss due to the high price of raw material and was staring bankruptcy in the face.
“If we had not closed down we would have gone bust. There is no point in going on until you are past the point of no return,” Mr Johnson said.
SIC development committee chairman Josie Simpson said a loan holiday was the best option. “We could either put the company into liquidation and lose our investment or give them a four month window to get the company back on track.”
Mr Johnson said that he was very pleased with the council’s decision and added that the council loan was secured on the factory premises and equipment, so they faced little in the way of risk if things went wrong.
“This is very helpful indeed because it means we can retain management staff and in 10 weeks hopefully we can restart and re-employ 50 people.”
He also pointed to the success of the Yell company Shetland Norse that imports crab meat and processes it in the islands. “What we are looking at is similar but involves salmon,” he said.
The fish factory was set up 40 years ago and was the island’s largest employer.
Welcoming the news, local community council chairman David Hughson said: “The factory is critical for Whalsay because it employs so many people.
“When it was working at full capacity you were almost guaranteed a job there, anybody that left school could get a part time job there until they got something full time or students could get work during the summer months.
“It’s done wonders for the local economy in the past and I hope it gets back to that in the future.”
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