中國需求救活一家英國奶粉廠

It is a familiar story: a small town, a big factory, overseas owners and job cuts, resulting in another tear in the social fabric of an English community. Except in Kendal, on the edge of the Lake District, the ending has been rewritten.

這是一個人們熟悉的故事：一個小鎮(zhèn)，一家大工廠，海外所有者，裁員，結(jié)果是一個英國社區(qū)的社會網(wǎng)絡再次被撕裂。但位于英國湖區(qū)邊上的肯德爾(Kendal)是例外，結(jié)局已被改寫。

Heinz was about to shut the powdered baby milk plant that had sustained hundreds of Kendal’s working families as well as infants worldwide for 50 years. An Irish entrepreneur bought it, invested millions, hired extra staff and created new brands. As a result Kendamil has joined Kendal Mint cake on shop shelves.

美國跨國公司亨氏(Heinz)原本要關閉肯德爾的嬰兒奶粉工廠，50年來，這家工廠維系著肯德爾數(shù)百個工薪家庭以及全球嬰兒的生活。一位愛爾蘭企業(yè)家收購了這家工廠，投資數(shù)百萬英鎊，聘用更多員工并締造了新品牌。于是，康多蜜兒(Kendamil)奶粉與肯德爾薄荷蛋糕(Kendal Mint)一道出現(xiàn)在了商店貨架上。

Ross McMahon, 52, a food scientist, had worked in Asia and spotted a thirst for infant formula. Contaminated milk made almost 300,000 babies ill in China in 2008, killing several. The country switched to imports and British-made products are among the most highly trusted.

52歲的食品學家羅斯•麥克馬洪(Ross McMahon)曾在亞洲工作過，他發(fā)現(xiàn)了人們對嬰幼兒配方奶粉的渴求。2008年，受污染的奶粉導致中國近30萬嬰兒患病，多名幼兒死亡。中國轉(zhuǎn)向進口奶粉，英國產(chǎn)的奶粉是最受信賴的奶粉之一。

Mr McMahon could not believe his luck. After months of negotiations he persuaded Heinz to sell to him in 2015. He will not disclose the price but admits it was cheap; it would have cost the US multinational £6m to close it. Heinz bought the facility from Boots in 1998 for £94m, he says. It was built by GlaxoSmithKline to make its Farley’s range in 1962.

麥克馬洪無法相信他會有這樣的好運。在經(jīng)過數(shù)月的談判后，2015年，他說服亨氏將肯德爾工廠出售給他。他不愿披露價格，但他承認價格很便宜，原本亨氏要花費600萬英鎊關閉這家工廠。他說，1998年，亨氏以9400萬英鎊從Boots手中收購了這家工廠。它是在1962年由葛蘭素史克(GlaxoSmithKline, GSK)為生產(chǎn)Farley產(chǎn)品系列而建的。

There were 88 workers left when Mr McMahon bought the plant, after Heinz laid off 170 people in four rounds of redundancies in the previous years.

在麥克馬洪收購這家工廠時，還剩88名員工，此前幾年，亨氏在4輪裁員中裁掉了170名員工。

Mr McMahon’s biggest coup was to gain Chinese accreditation for Kendamil. The factory is one of only 75 in the world allowed to export products there.

麥克馬洪的最大壯舉是獲得了康多蜜兒的中國認證。這家工廠是全球僅有的75家具備對華出口同類產(chǎn)品資格的工廠之一。

China now accounts for about a third of the business. “Kendamil is more famous there than it is here,” he says. “We are in 20,000 stores.” Nutricare, the new name for the business, also retained contracts to make infant cereals such as porridge for Heinz, providing a third of its turnover, and sells to north Africa and Southeast Asia.

中國現(xiàn)在占該工廠業(yè)務的三分之一左右。“康多蜜兒在中國的知名度超過在英國，”他表示，“我們已入駐中國2000家店鋪。”該公司的新名稱是肯德爾營養(yǎng)(Nutricare)，它保留了為亨氏生產(chǎn)米糊等嬰兒谷物輔食的合約，占其營業(yè)額的三分之一，產(chǎn)品銷往北非和東南亞。

However, the UK market has proved harder to crack. Kendamil has the highest AA quality rating from the British Retail Consortium but shelf space is dominated by Cow and Gate and Aptamil, owned by Danone of France, and Nestle’s SMA. Only Booths, a small independent in north-west England, and 50 kosher shops in London stock Kendamil, though it is sold online. Other companies can spend millions on marketing, and most customers stick with known brands.

然而，事實證明，英國市場較難攻克?？刀嗝蹆簱碛衼碜杂闶凵虆f(xié)會( British Retail Consortium)的最高AA質(zhì)量評級，但商店貨架被法國達能(Danone)旗下的牛欄(Cow and Gate)和愛他美(Aptamil)以及雀巢(Nestle)的SMA占據(jù)。只有位于英格蘭西北部的小型獨立超市Booths以及倫敦的50家猶太潔食商店售賣康多蜜兒奶粉，不過是在網(wǎng)上銷售。其他公司可能會花費數(shù)百萬英鎊用于營銷，而且多數(shù)消費者忠于已知品牌。

As the only domestic manufacturer, Mr McMahon wants the government to force packaging to declare in which country the formula is made. He also claims it is better quality because he has switched to whole milk. Other brands use skimmed milk and vegetable oil.

作為英國唯一一家本土配方奶粉制造商，麥克馬洪希望英國政府強制在包裝上標示配方奶粉產(chǎn)地。他還指出，其奶粉的質(zhì)量更好，因為該公司使用全脂奶。其他品牌則使用脫脂奶和植物油。

The milk comes from 220 farms in northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

該公司的奶源為英格蘭北部、蘇格蘭和北愛爾蘭的220家農(nóng)場。

The factory employs 120 but remains at about one-fifth capacity. However, it is breaking even, Mr McMahon says. Turnover should rise from £8.5m in the year after the takeover to £12m this year. Mr McMahon used the proceeds of property investment in London to buy the business and relies on just a small overdraft. He said he had invested £1.3m and the plant was breaking even. Staff have had a 2 per cent pay rise, although he does not draw a salary.

工廠現(xiàn)有員工120名，但僅維持大約五分之一產(chǎn)能的生產(chǎn)水平。然而，麥克馬洪表示，工廠盈虧平衡。今年營業(yè)額應會從收購后一年的850萬英鎊增至1200萬英鎊。他利用投資倫敦房地產(chǎn)的收益收購了這家工廠，僅少量透支。他表示，他已投入130萬英鎊，工廠現(xiàn)在不盈不虧。員工薪資上漲了2%，不過他自己不領取工資。

Nutricare has an in-house product team and is now entering the lucrative adult protein food market with Kendalife, a whey-based nutrition drink with fruit flavours. An organic infant formula will follow next year.

肯德爾營養(yǎng)擁有一個內(nèi)部產(chǎn)品團隊，現(xiàn)在正以Kendalife系列產(chǎn)品進入利潤頗豐的成人蛋白質(zhì)食品市場，這種產(chǎn)品是一種基于乳清的水果味營養(yǎng)飲料。明年將推出有機嬰兒配方奶粉。

The government has been supportive. The company has been on trade missions with the Department for International Trade and received £590,000 from the Regional Growth Fund for expansion. It wants to hit £31m turnover by 2020.

英國政府一直在提供支持。該公司隨同英國國際貿(mào)易部(Department for International Trade)參加貿(mào)易活動，并收到地區(qū)增長基金(Regional Growth Fund)的59萬英鎊資金用于擴張。該公司希望到2020年將營業(yè)額擴大到3100萬英鎊。

John Whittaker, 56, the factory manager, has worked at the plant for 37 years under three different owners. He says the sales process lasted 18 months, as Heinz disposed of noncore assets ahead of its merger with Kraft.

56歲的工廠經(jīng)理約翰•惠特克(John Whittaker)在這家工廠工作了37年，經(jīng)歷過3任所有者。他表示，收購過程持續(xù)了18個月，亨氏在與卡夫(Kraft)合并之前對其非核心資產(chǎn)進行了處置。

“There were times I thought there was a 80-90 per cent chance of it closing,” he says. Although many workers, who have average service of 20 years, would have received generous redundancy payouts, “they want to keep it going”.

他表示：“我曾經(jīng)認為它關門的可能性有80%至90%。”盡管很多員工(平均工作時間為20年)本可以獲得慷慨的解雇金，“但他們希望工廠繼續(xù)運營”。

“They care for the town and for the young ones,” Mr Whittaker says.

惠特克表示：“他們關心這個小鎮(zhèn)，也關心年輕人。”

The town of 28,000 does not have an unemployment problem, it has a wage problem. Matt Williams, an official with South Lakeland district council, said the unemployment rate was 0.6 per cent but many work in low-paid tourism and agricultural work. The average salary is £24,000 but the average house price is £210,000, driven up by wealthy pensioners and demand for second homes.

這個擁有2.8萬人口的小鎮(zhèn)沒有失業(yè)問題，問題是薪資。南萊克蘭地區(qū)議會的官員馬特•威廉姆斯(Matt Williams)表示，失業(yè)率為0.6%，但很多人從事薪資較低的旅游業(yè)和農(nóng)業(yè)工作。平均薪資為2.4萬英鎊，但平均房價為21萬英鎊。富有退休人員和對第二住房的需求推高了房價。

“It is a concern in terms of families being able to stay in the area,” he says. “One hundred plus jobs is significant for a place like Kendal. They are not just in production but R&D. The fact we are in the name is unbelievably good publicity for the town.”

“從能夠留在該地區(qū)的家庭來看，這是個問題，”他表示，“對于肯德爾這樣的地方而言，100多個就業(yè)崗位意義重大。它們不僅涉及生產(chǎn)，還包括研發(fā)。品牌名稱包含小鎮(zhèn)的名字，這對于小鎮(zhèn)是難以置信的好宣傳。”

Mr McMahon says he is committed for the long haul. “The value in this business is the Chinese registration. A Chinese investor would buy this in a heartbeat. But I want to keep it for the people of the town and grow it. What you cannot buy is the years of expertise here.”

麥克馬洪表示，他有著長遠打算。“公司的價值在于中國認證。中國投資者頃刻之間就可以收購它。但我希望為這個小鎮(zhèn)上的人保留它，并讓它壯大。多年的專業(yè)技能是無法買到的。”