Dunbia CEO Jim Dobson named Food Industry Champion
Celebrations are in store for Dunbia after its chief executive, Jim Dobson OBE, was crowned Food Industry Champion at the Food Management Today Industry Awards 2019.
L-R: Category partner James Smith of Kalsec Europe, Food Industry Champion Jim Dobson OBE and chef John Torode.
The awards were hosted by celebrity chef and MasterChef judge John Torode on 31st January during a special celebratory lunch and ceremony at The Royal Garden Hotel, London, attended by figures from the food industry.
The annual Awards are a celebration of the creativity, innovation and excellence across the British food industry and reward manufacturers, retailers and individuals through 16 categories. Winners were announced by the category partners participating at the event.
The Food Industry Champion is the ceremony’s overall accolade and each year’s winning candidate is chosen through a voting process undertaken by readers of Meat Management’s sister publication – Food Management Today magazine.
Dobson said: “I am honoured to have received this award and would like to thank everyone who voted for me. This award is not only a reflection on me but on the whole team at Dunbia.”
Dobson co-founded Dunbia with his brother Jack in 1976 and the business has grown into a meat-processing company with multiple sites across the UK, and a workforce of thousands of people.
In 2017, a partnership agreement between Dunbia and Dawn Meats came to completion. The combined businesses now process approximately one million cattle and 2.6 million sheep annually, and are managed by Dobson together with Dawn Meats CEO Niall Browne.
Dobson has scooped various accolades over the years, including the Meat Management Excellence Award, being named UK Director of the Year by the Institute of Directors and a Lifetime Achievement Award at the prestigious UTV Business Eye Awards.
He is also a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Butchers and was appointed an Associate of the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society in recognition of distinguished achievements in the agricultural industry.
Meat products steal the show
Dunbia also had additional success in the Best Red Meat Product category with the Co-op Irresistible 2 Beef Rib & Ale Burgers product, but was not the only meat business to celebrate success at the event. Meat manufacturer Samworth Brothers was named Food Manufacturer of the Year and major meat processor ABP received the Best Training Initiative title for the ABP UK Talent Academy.
The following meat products and suppliers all marked success in the awards through various categories:
• Best New Product Development: The Chicken Egg – Alf Turner
• Best Free From Product: Waitrose 6 Spanish Style Pork & Spinach Sausage with Roasted Red Peppers – Walkers Deli & Sausage Co
• Best Frozen Product: DC Comics Wonder Woman Beef, Cheese & Bacon Burger – ABP UK
• Best Red Meat Product: Co-op Irresistible 2 Beef Rib & Ale Burgers – Dunbia
• Best Poultry Product: Aldi Specially Selected Free Range Whole Chicken – 2 Sisters Food Group
• Best Equipment / Machinery Supplier: Trief UK
For further information about the Food Management Today Industry Awards and to read the current edition of FMT, which includes the new Awards Brochure, go to www.foodmanagement.today/emag.
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