From Local Enterprise to Global Partner

Acquired in 1982, the factory in Grange, Sligo, Ireland supplied stainless steel products and equipment to local companies.

In 1986, we began to focus on fish, supplying stainless steel handling equipment designed to significantly reduce processing labour costs.

We expanded our service offering into the Meat & Poultry industry, supplying full turnkey handling solutions designed to provide customers with a rapid return on investment.

Partnerships with key equipment suppliers enabled the supply of intelligent, innovative technical solutions to all industry sectors.

In 1998, a world-class manufacturing programme was established to streamline the manufacturing process. This was followed by a factory expansion in 2002 to meet the heavy demands of the food industry.

Testament to the success of our export business, SF Engineering were finalists in the DHL Export Awards in 2004.

In 2006, we  invested heavily in state-of-the art equipment to meet high-quality manufacturing requirements.

In 2008, SF Engineering acquired OPAL FPS in Cambridgeshire, UK.  We became the largest independent food production line solutions provider to the red meat industry in Ireland and the UK.

In 2009, we established a formal distribution agreement with the market leader in weighing  technology, Ishida.

Between 2010 and 2011, SF doubled its manufacturing capacity in Grange, Sligo, Ireland, allowing a formal global focus on the poultry industry alongside partner, Ishida.

We won the Irish Exporter ‘Small Exporter of the Year’ Award and signed a formal distribution agreement with Ceia. This further strengthened our product portfolio with industry-leading metal detection solutions.

A factory move to St Ives, Cambridgeshire, UK in 2012, opened by Sir Ranulph Fiennes, allowed us to triple SF’s manufacturing capacity.

In 2014, SF Engineering signed a formal distribution agreement for Eagle’s fat analysis machine in Ireland and the UK, enabling us to develop the SF Trim Management System.

In the same year, we also secured a contract with the largest poultry factory in the Middle East.

In 2015, a formal distribution agreement for Marelec products in Ireland and the UK was signed, further strengthening our portfolio with a leading portioning solution.

A further factory expansion throughout 2018 in Grange, Sligo, Ireland, allowed us to expand into a second fabrication hall.

In 2019, we were the winners of the ‘Irish Exporter Medium Exporter’ Award.

Today we employ 120 people across two sites and have designed, manufactured and installed food processing production line solutions in 63 countries.

Our unwavering focus on increasing our customers’ profitability, together with years of engineering, technical and design expertise, means that SF Engineering can continue to offer a wide variety of food production line solutions tailored to the specific needs of our customers.