Potters Poultry turns 60 in 2024 and has been laying strong foundations for the future

Published on : 13 May 2024

Potters Poultry is now celebrating 60 years in business

Most readers will know Potters Poultry as one of the few remaining independent suppliers of pullets, or as the UK pioneer of free-range laying equipment including its aviary systems, and as the only supplier of laying nests and plastic slats that are still manufactured in the UK.

Many UK employees working at Potters Poultry have known third generation owners Justin Potter and Olivia Potter since they were children. The company is now celebrating 60 years. Nothing stands still. Despite a range of challenges including COVID, Brexit, and the egg price crisis over recent years that have seen other larger companies call it a day, Potters Poultry, with attention to its costs base and with a diversified business, has emerged stronger and is optimistic about the future. It now has a thriving pullet rearing and equipment business in the US with Marc Braddock International Business Development Manager building its distribution network in many other countries. However, it’s roots are firmly in the UK and its commitment to its UK & Ireland customers is stronger than ever.

Potters Management Team

As part of this commitment, Potters has recently taken on the distribution in UK and Ireland of Plasson feeding and drinking systems. This has provided an opportunity to service its existing base and diversify into broiler, breeder, ducks and turkey markets with a range of drinking systems, leading edge water flushing solutions & water on demand. We can also offer a robust, effective, practical range of high quality pan feeders, chick segregation fences, and all this with the backing of a technical team at Plasson that is renowned for excellent service. To compliment it’s range for breeders, Potters now offers the Konvey, a unique male feeding system which has already proved popular with customers.

In 2023 Potters agreed with Harlow Brothers to deepen its cooperation and has become its partner for the sales and marketing of all types of Harlow poultry shed in the UK. Over many years, Harlow and Potters, have been responsible for providing the sheds and equipment for thousands of installations. This closer cooperation has enabled the companies to pool skills and expertise and ultimately offer UK poultry customers better value for money with a range of clear span or traditional timber buildings across the poultry sector.

This could not be done, however, without taking on the people with the experience and expertise to support these products. With 30 years’ working in the Broiler Breeder Sector and project management experience across Marshalls then Aviagen, Richard Mackie’s appointment as UK & Ireland Business Development Manager has been an important development leading up to its 60th birthday.

Now based in the US, Olivia Potter can be closer to customers and distributors and an expanding US team. “Olivia has an increasingly global technical farming role and we obviously needed someone to manage the pullet business from the UK and be present for our UK customers” says Justin Potter who acknowledges that his own engineering background is critical to the equipment side of the business. “With Emily Amelkova now heading up the UK Pullet division we have someone who has managed farms herself and who is well respected by the customers”. He is clearly optimistic about the future, and really looking forward to being present with his team, and with Plasson and Harlow representatives at the Pig & Poultry show where they have stand 12-761.