CLOSURE OF BD FOODS “A DEVASTATING BLOW” – CARTHY

Michael Fisher

The Co. Antrim parent company of BD Foods in Glaslough has announced it is to close its Co. Monaghan distribition operation with a potential loss of 48 jobs. BD Foods was purchased by Henderson Foodservice based in Mallusk, outside Belfast in 2018.

The firm began trading in 1993 as Barbarrie Duckling Ltd. It was founded by Emyvale businessman Paul Bowe in 1993 to import and supply barbarrie duck and other poultry from France to the expanding continental restaurant trade in Ireland. The company grew to establish its products on the menus of some of Ireland’s top restaurants.

Since the takeover it has continued to supply a wide range of fresh, frozen and dry goods to the premium food sector, specifically the hotel and high-end restaurant business, which have had to close their doors during the coronavirus pandemic. During the current crisis the company says it has been following government advice as well as monitoring and adapting its operations in response…