Carmarthen Mill celebrates 50 years

Over 100 guests joined staff at Carmarthen Mill, owned and operated by ForFarmers, last week as it marked 50 years of operation in July with an on-site celebration.

Built in 1974 as part of a big development for Unilever which owned BOCM Silcock, nowadays 50 mill staff and seven account managers operate out of Carmarthen mill which has been modernised over time.

The mill’s design was replicated on seven mills in the year it was built, including the ForFarmers’ site in Exeter. Pauls Agriculture and BOCM Silcock merged in 1992 to form BOCM PAULS before becoming ForFarmers in 2012. Now, the mill and sales team supply a huge area of Wales, covering much of the southern two thirds of the nation.

After 43 years of working at the mill, Jeff Davies is now at the helm of the operation, and over this period has seen a lot of change. Together with an organising team, Jeff marked the 50^th celebration in July at the mill by inviting as many ex-employees, merchants and hauliers as possible.

Jeff said: “We were very pleased with the day and have had some really good feedback from those who attended. From a personal point of view, it was so nice to see people I hadn’t seen for 20 or 30 years.

“A lot has happened here over the last 50 years. In the beginning, we were dealing in a lot of bagged volume, but now we certainly deal in much more bulk than bag. Everything is more automated.

“We have been through the BSE crisis which saw a change in our formulations which was followed by Foot and Mouth. During Covid, our drivers and mill staff were classified as essential workers continued working.

Walking tours of the mill for customers are also being organised as part of the celebrations.

Jeff said: “This mill has had a huge part to play in agriculture locally. It has done a lot of service and put through a lot of tonnes. For many farmers, they can’t remember a time without it being here, and with lots of customers, we are now dealing with the next generation of a family.”