A Miller’s Tale


History of a Northern Irish Compounder: Part Three By Richard Scott


In the third and final part of this history of Scotts of Omagh, Richard Scott writes of the lead up to the takeover by Fane Valley, the new mill and up to the present day


Fred Charters, in his early twenties, was recruited to the sales force in 1964. Fred was a native of County Antrim and was first employed by a national company, R. Silcock & Sons, who provided him with an excellent training. From the start of his employment with us, Fred realised the competitive benefit to our customers and the company alike of bulk delivery. The cost benefits were also swiftly appreciated by large potential customers such as Moy Park, Associated Egg Packers and Silverhill Duckling. I have particularly mentioned Roy Howard and Fred Charters


as these two men were instrumental in the later development of the company.


Another piece of good fortune for the mill was the development of


barley growing in Tyrone. In 1959, this had been 3,240 acres. By 1964, this had increased to 31,300 acres, and the mill was well-placed to buy a share of the tonnage, as we had invested both in drying facilities and in a grain storage bin capable of holding one thousand tons. We offered Tyrone growers the same price as they would have received if selling to a mill in Belfast or Derry, without their having to bear the cost of transport. By 1970, the mill’s sales had increased to 26,800 tons and the profit


was a respectable £42,190. Borrowings remained high as grain prices had greatly increased, and productive capacity and additional bulk lorries demanded ever more capital. By now, Roy and Fred had earned their promotion to, respectively, production manager and sales manager. The non-executive contribution was sadly depleted in that year, by the sudden and wholly unexpected death of Bobby Scott. We were


fortunate in being able to recruit John Walton, a nephew of Maddin Scott’s, who added considerable intellectual strength to the board. From 1st


January 1973, the accession of Ireland and the UK to the


European Common Market, as it was then called, meant that goods could flow on an unrestricted basis between Northern Ireland and the Republic, for the first time since 1922. This enabled the mill to compete for sales in counties Monaghan and Donegal, which at their nearest points were within thirty miles of Omagh, transforming the size of our trading area and potential sales. In 1975, the sales were 42,626 tons, and profit was £216,104.


We had not heard of the term “critical mass”, but this was what the company was beginning to experience. Somehow, the expanding trade was financed within acceptable bank overdraft limits. John McAusland retired in July 1981, with plans for himself and


Patricia to sail their new yacht across the world’s oceans. Sadly, that was not to be as he fell victim to cancer and did not survive beyond his sixty-first year. A second and equally serious blow to the family was the death in September 1984 of our former chairman Walford Green, who had made a unique contribution for almost forty years up to the time of his retirement in 1980. His son, Dr Roger Green, replaced him on the board and made


his own contribution to the non-executive function, by asking the occasional awkward question, listening carefully to the answer and, where appropriate, challenging the executives’ assumptions. Roger also paid his own travel expenses to board meetings, a considerable cost given that he was then in medical practice and residence in the Sultanate of Oman.


Sixth generation Succession planning over the previous decades ensured that the expected retirements and unexpected deaths in the early 1980s did not cause any more than a temporary adjustment to the progress of the company. Seamlessly, Roy Howard became production director and Fred Charters sales director, with the non-executive membership of the board being strengthened by the recruitment of David and Robert, sons of Bobby Scott. I was elected chairman and managing director. Given the need to ensure continuity, William McAusland and


Desmond Given, both having served their time as understudies to Roy and Fred, were now given additional responsibility. Each was to make a significant contribution to the further development of the company, Desmond initially in sales but thereafter as purchasing and transport manager, William assisting Roy in keeping the production capacity capable of coping with the needs of inexorably increasing sales during


Left: The old town centre mill in Omagh, around 1997 FEED COMPOUNDER MARCH/APRIL 2021 PAGE 25


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