A POPULAR Evesham firm has been handed a boost with a new long-term supply deal which will see Aldi stock mushrooms from the Vale until 2024.
The new five-year deal, starting in 2019, will enable mushroom grower Walsh Mushrooms to further invest in its factory and operations, drive efficiency and create new jobs in the business to enable it to fulfil increased demand.
Since the partnership began more than a decade ago, Walsh chiefs have created more than 100 new jobs and introduced multiple sustainability measures to its farms across the UK and Ireland. Its farms now benefit from the use of woodchip boilers and efficient cooling systems, resulting in more than 600 tonnes of CO2 and over 500 tonnes of carbon saved each year.
The Evesham site also benefits from solar panels and LED lighting, reducing electricity demand and saving more than 150 tonnes of CO2 per annum. The measures led to the business being awarded the Wychavon Intelligently Green Award in 2016, recognising its commitment to sustainability.
Paul Parmenter, senior commercial manager at Walsh Mushrooms, said: “Aldi are a really important part of our business and the relationship has allowed us to continually invest to improve efficiencies and produce high quality mushrooms. In today’s very competitive market, maintaining some stability in production is key and this will allow longer term investment and provide security to our staff.”
Julie Ashfield, managing director of Buying at Aldi, said: “We support British farmers up and down the country, and the relationship we have with Walsh Mushrooms is a good example of this in practice.”
