Case Study: Shalvey Poultry
Countries Involved: Ireland, USA
Shalvey Poultry was founded in Canningstown, Cootelhill, Co Cavan in 1996 by Gabriel Shalvey. His parents were in the business of rearing turkeys and he moved from this business to providing added value by supplying cooked turkey products. The company now sells boneless turkey and chicken products from a new facility costing €2.3m. It has 35 full-time and 15 part-time employees, a turnover of €10m. and has a good profit record. Its sales are 70% in Ireland and 30% in the UK.
From the outset the company recognised the need for new products and production technologies and identified the US as a country where products were available which would be new to the Irish and UK markets. It asked Enterprise Ireland for assistance and was first introduced to the concept of international technology transfer through its participation in the 1998 US Food Partnership Mission to Chicago. Through a US consultant, 15 companies were identified and introductions made to a shortlist of four companies with innovative products but who were not in the European market.
A number of visits were made and technical information exchanged with the three main companies in the US, Perdue Farms, North Carolina Turkey and Tyson Poultry. They subsequently met with Cooper Farms. The company learned about gas flushed packaging methods to increase shelf life, the use of printed films and acquired new recipes. Shalveys were able to help the US companies by giving the benefit of their own experience. For example, they provided assistance to P&H Foods of Ontario, Canada, in solving problems in pinking of poultry meat.
Shalvey Poultry acquired the technology to produce roasted strip chicken in gas flushed trays. This product has been very successful and has underpinned an expansion of the overall business, including the construction of separate facilities for the new product range. No formal technology transfer agreements were signed. Instead, a mutual exchange of useful technical know-how took place which benefited all parties.
The company feels that the experience of technology transfer has been very useful to them, particularly in issues of food safety. They might have been able to enter more formal and beneficial technology transfer agreements if there had been some incentive to encourage the US and Canadian companies to visit Ireland. Most companies of this type do not export to Europe and many have never visited Europe. Inward missions for such companies can lead to more formal relationships and improve the chances of cooperation, something which Shalveys would welcome.