Old meat firm taken over

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32959, 4 July 1972, Page 11

Old meat firm taken over

The old-established Ashburton firm of Nicoll Brothers, frozen meat exporters, and one of the pioneers in the field, closed its premises last week. Its operations have been taken over by the Canterbury Frozen Meat Company.

The C.F.M. will handle thei extra business at its offices at the Fairfield freezing works. The 14 employees of Nicoll Bros will work for the C.F.M.

Nicoll Bros was established as a private company by Mr H. F. Nicoll in 1898,'only 15 years after the first ship Dunedin left New Zealand with a cargo of frozen meat for overseas. Three of Mr Nicoll’s brothers joined the company.

The business grew rapidly, with a selling agency estab-

eflished in London, as well as si outlets established through g one of the largest retail firms f in England. r The manager of Nicoll Bros for the last 15 years, Mr G. d L. Nicoll, of Christchurch, r is the nephew of the late Mr SE. F. Nicoll. He joined the 3 company as a stock buyer, 1 and took over the managet ment of the company in r 1957. e Although Ashburton has always been the headquarters of the company, Mr h Nicoll has lived in Christ- - church. A good deal of the firm's business was done in I Christchurch. The firm bought stock from farmers, which was then processed by local freezing I works. The firm then shipped the consignments to its i overseas markets. | Mr Nicoll said that his 1 firm and the C.F.M. Company had arrived at a “suitable business arragement” for the latter company to take over ’ the business.