About Us

Founder John Cressy	About Us	Members of Brewing, Food & Beverage Industry Suppliers Assoc
	EARLY HISTORY John Cressy had been working as an animal feed merchant specialising in brewer's grains for some years before and during the Second World War and in 1945 at the age of 81 he incorporated Cressy's Grains Limited ("Cressy's"). During those early years Cressy's obtained their supplies from Wilsons brewery in Newton Heath, Manchester, British Vinegars in Longsight, Manchester and the Whitbread brewery in Stockport. Their customer base covered Cheshire and parts of North Staffordshire. In those days the grains were shovelled by hand out of the mash tun and also off the lorry on farm with no. 8 aluminium shovels. BUSINESS TODAY Over 60 years has passed since John Cressy started the business and over that time there have been many challenges and changes. Many breweries over that time have been closed and 1989 saw the Beer Orders Act, which started the movement which has largely split the brewers and pub estates. On the farm customer side in the last twenty-five years there has been the imposition of Milk Quotas in 1984, Milk Marketing Deregulation in 1994, BSE , Foot and Mouth in 2001 and the end of farm subsidies with the introduction of Single Farm Payments in 2006. Cressy's has had to adapt to these changing circumstances and now operates over a much larger area covering most of the Midlands and the North West.	Members of Freight Transport Assoc.

		UKASKA Feed Assurance Scheme Registration No. 407
	From its two bases in Alderley Edge and Nottingham, Cressy's now obtain supplies from 7 breweries belonging to regional, national and international brewery groups and delivers to over 800 customers with its own fleet of in-house maintained tipper vehicles. The company currently handles around 100,000 tonnes of brewer's grains and other moist co-products and 10,000 tonnes of dry feed annually. The company also undertakes around 30,000 tonnes of haulage work for other merchants every year. As a specialist brewer's grains merchant the company handles about 40% of the available supply in its area of operation. MANAGEMENT AND STAFF The three executive directors of Cressy's Grains Ltd are Philip Green FCA (Chairman), Keith Parkes (Managing Director) and Graham Worth (Sales Director). All the directors have been associated with the company for at least twenty years. The company is also assisted by Janice Wood (Company Secretary) and Duncan Chadderton LLB in his professional capacity, as a non-executive director. For Transport Management, Accounting, Sales and Vehicle Maintenance there are a further five members of staff together with eight full time drivers. The CPC qualification for National Road Haulage Operations is held by all three executive directors and Barry Talbot (Transport Manager). The directors of our Holding Company 'Cressy's Grains ( Holdings) Limited' consist of Philip Green FCA ( Chairman) Jill Eastwood JP MSc, Christopher Green and Susan Green. INDUSTRY COMMITMENT Cressy's are active members of the BFBi (formerly ABTA) Grains and Moist Co-Products Committee ("BFBi Committee") which has over many years played an invaluable role in addressing industry requirements and concerns. In the late 1990's the BFBi Committee brought out it's own assurance scheme for its members to follow and this resulted in the UFAS (AIC) Code. Cressy's are now subject to an annual quality control audit and holds an accreditation certificate, which is now considered mandatory for the retail milk traceability inspections carried out on farm. Also the BFBi Committee has, for example, sponsored books ("Co-product Feeds" which has now sold in 37 counties), produced farm storage pamphlets and campaigned with organisations such as the BBPA against the application of the waste regulations to moist feeds including brewer's grains. Unlike some of its competitors, Cressy's sells in the main "directly to farm" and obviously has its own sales marketing strategies, which include farm visits by sales representatives, technical assistance, advertising and promotional literature etc. Cressy's takes a trade stand every year at one of the local agricultural shows such as the Nantwich Show or the Cheshire Ploughing Match. SERVICE TO SUPPLIERS AND CUSTOMERS Cressy's name is well known as a specialist supplier of brewer's grains and due to its size and experience is able to offer a "hands on service" to both the breweries and farmer customers. The company carefully monitors brewery outputs to keep the silos clear and ensure these areas are clean and tidy at all times. The company's transport manager visits all the brewery output sites at least every 4 months to ensure brewery production staff is happy with the service provided. To assist with brewery clearance, the company has in the past even made capital contributions to pay for brewery equipment where there is an obvious benefit to both parties. Again, in the past, because the company runs its own transport it has been able to dispatch a spare vehicle straight away and leave it on site to accommodate emergencies such as broken discharge pipes etc. The farmer customer is, of course, very important indeed and sales staff make regular calls on all the active customers and if there is a problem this is followed up immediately with a farm visit and usually resolved with the farmer customer straight away. Some of the customers have been taking grains supplied by Cressy's for many years and over several generations, which is an endorsement of the quality of service, which the company endeavours to provide. Cressy's therefore feels well placed to continue to offer a competitively priced service of a high standard to both the brewing and dairy farming industries.
	Cressy's Grains Limited Row of Trees Garage, Knutsford Road, Alderley Edge, Cheshire SK9 7SH Tel: 01625 583599 Fax: 01625 585733 Email: cressys@brewersgrains.com Registered Office Wellington House, 39/41 Piccadilly Manchester M1 1LQ Registration Number 1683307( England)