Grower Profiles

Huntapac Produce Ltd Managing Director William Hunter

Top: Warren Hunter Commercial Manager

By the end of this season in early summer 1,545 acres of carrots from all over the country will have been grown, harvested, washed and packed by Huntapac Produce.

Carrots are sown by Huntapac's own experienced farm staff from January to May, when the early season carrots, having lain under polythene to speed growth, are ready for harvesting. They are lifted during the night and transported to the factory at Tarleton in Lancashire where they will be washed, polished, graded and packed ready for the customer. These early season carrots are harvested by the top-lifting method where they are lifted from the ground by their tops. From October onwards until the end of the season share-lifting is used where the whole bed including the soil is taken.

Huntapac's current Managing Director William Hunter heads the company as his son Warren, along with brother Jason, takes on the day to day running of the business.

Warren tells the background of the company. 'Huntapac was formed in the 1930's by my grandfather William on this site here at Tarleton. He began by supplying a wholesaler in Bury with fresh vegetables and gradually developed the business to supply markets in Lancashire and Yorkshire. In 1967 a new pack house was built here to cope with the increasing demand for high quality produce, and in more recent years investments have seen the site more than double in size and we have become a 24-hour, 364-day-a-year operation.'

The range of produce grown by the firm includes parsnips, caulis, cabbage, lettuce, broccoli and sprouts but carrots account for the majority of sales and are grown in Lancashire, Cheshire, Shropshire, Yorkshire, Worcestershire, Suffolk, Northumberland and Scotland. Huntapac's own harvesting teams began last June in the South of England and have been gradually making their way northward where the season will end near Inverness in late May.

Warren reflects on how different the whole operation is today compared to his grandfather's experiences. 'Years ago carrots were not strawed for winter to give protection against the frost, extra soil was piled on top. The entire crop was share harvested using a Whitstead Harvester and the only washer used was a barrel washer. All the packing was done by hand by 6 employees.'

Today pre-packing is done automatically and Huntapac now employ over 300 staff.

Warren continues, 'We are always looking to advance the company even further and the next step forward for us may be optical grading using cameras.'

And if anyone needed an excuse to eat more carrots? - Rumour has it that this most popular vegetable was ordered to be eaten by troops during the war to aid their eyesight and night vision!