Laurence "Larry" Goodman (born 15 September 1937) is an Irish businessman, chiefly involved in the beef processing industry. He is the 6th generation of a livestock and meat exporting family and founded what is now ABP Food Group in 1954. He is the Executive Chairman of the company which has grown to become one of Europe’s largest agri-business companies with 51 processing plants in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Denmark, Holland, Austria, Poland. ABP employs over 11,000 people. Separately, the Goodman family office has business interests in property, healthcare and productive arable and beef farming.
His companies attracted controversy during the 1991
Beef Tribunal, while a burger manufacturing facility, Silvercrest, was one of a number of high profile food manufacturing facilities which were involved in the
2013 European horse meat scandal. An investigation by the Irish Government into the issue concluded that the company had never knowingly purchased meat containing equine DNA.
Personal life
Goodman was born in County Louth. He left school without finishing his
Intermediate Certificate, and followed his father into the meat industry, starting with meat by-products and sheep. He was "born to a well off family who had been in the meat business for six generations". He lives with his wife Kitty at
Castlebellingham
Castlebellingham () is a village and townland in County Louth, Ireland. The village has become quieter since the construction of the new M1 motorway, which bypasses it. The population of Castlebellingham-Kilsaran (named for the two townlands whi ...
, County Louth. His brother Peter Goodman worked as deputy chairman of Goodman International and his other brother Michael was a farmer in County Louth. They are no longer talking to one another.
Business life
In the late 1960s Goodman bought
Anglo-Irish Meats in
Dundalk
Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...
, which put him into the processing industry in a substantial way. He then began exporting, building up contacts in the Middle East in particular. He sold meat to
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...
,
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
,
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
and
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
– often going himself as salesman. He was on the advisory committee for
HSBC's opening of operations in Ireland in 1979, along with Dermot Nolan, Michael Carvill and Peter Hutson. In April 1980 Anglo Irish Meat Group purchased a meat plant at
Bagenalstown, County Carlow from Meade-Lonsdale for around £2.2m.
In June 1980 it was announced that Goodman would invest £10m for a new meat plant in
Ardee, County Louth
Ardee (; , ) is a town and townland in County Louth, Ireland. It is located at the intersection of the N2, N52, and N33 roads. The town shows evidence of development from the thirteenth century onward but as a result of the continued devel ...
, employing 360 people "when it reaches full production". It also announced an additional £10m investment to expand operations at Cahir, Nenagh and Bagenalstown. In October 1980, Goodman bought Fermanagh Meats in Enniskillen for about £1.5m. The plant employed 60 people and processed about 1,000 head of cattle a week. By this time Goodman's meat empire was turning over about £100m a year.
In July 1981 it was announced that the IDA would put £2m towards the £9m expansion of Goodman's plants. One of his companies, Irish Agricultural Feed Co also built a feed manufacturing facility at Castlebellingham, and a complex to "over-winter up to 15,000 cattle to boost supplies to the factories at a time when few cattle are finished for slaughter". The complex "was the result of 14 years research" and cost £2m. By this time Anglo Irish Group employed some 700 people and turnover had reached £120m per year.
In January 1982 it was announced that Anglo Irish Beef Group had won a £25.5m contract to supply beef to
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
. The contract involved supplying 9,000 tonnes of boneless consumer cuts and frozen bone-in meat and was part of an overall order for 54,000 tonnes of beef placed by Iraq.
In March 1983, AIBG acquired the four
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
factories of the animal by-products processors Robert Wilson for around £1m. By this stage AIBP was slaughtering more than 250,000 cattle a year, and 10,000 cattle were being fattened at Goodman's feeding lots in Louth. Later that year, in April 1983, he won contracts to supply $50m worth of fresh frozen beef to Iran and Morocco. At the time of the deal, Goodman complained that because there was no Variable Premium subsidy scheme in the UK, exporters there had an effective subsidy of $300 a tonne on beef exporters, thus enabling them to undercut Irish exporters. In September 1983 Goodman won a $33m contract to supply beef to Iran. Goodman praised then Minister for Agriculture
Austin Deasy
Austin Deasy (26 August 1936 – 10 June 2017) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as Minister for Agriculture from 1982 to 1987. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Waterford constituency from 1977 to 2002. He was a Senator from ...
, whose visit to Tehran "greatly facilitated the securing of the new contract".
In December 1984 AIBP purchased the entire fresh meat division of Dalgety PLC, a publicly quoted UK group. It included facilities in York, Blisworth, Wellingborough and Reading, as well as distribution depots in Jersey and Berkshire. By this time turnover at Goodman had reached £300m a year. The purchased was followed by the acquisition of the Waterford plant of Clover Meats (after that company's collapse) for around £2m in February 1985. It includes the purchase of National Proteins, a by-products plant processing meat and bone meal from edible offal.
Desmond and Mac Giolla allegations
On 9 March 1989 TDs
Barry Desmond
Barry Seán Desmond (born 15 May 1935) is an Irish former Labour Party politician who served as a Member of the European Court of Auditors from 1994 to 2000, Minister for Health from 1982 to 1987, Minister for Social Welfare from 1982 to 198 ...
and
Tomás Mac Giolla
Tomás Mac Giolla (; born Thomas Gill; 25 January 1924 – 4 February 2010) was an Irish Workers' Party politician who served as Lord Mayor of Dublin from 1993 to 1994, Leader of the Workers' Party from 1962 to 1988 and President of Sinn Féin ...
made a series of allegations about Goodman International in the Dáil.
It emerged that the Minister of Agriculture had met Goodman on 19 October 1988 and Goodman had expressed interest in Irish Sugar – however in a parliamentary question submitted by Des O'Malley just a month later O'Kennedy denied any "discussions or negotiations" related to Goodman had taken place. Desmond indicated that the media had been subject to writs, and called for a tribunal of inquiry into the Goodman Group.
In a March 1989 ''Irish Times'' story, Goodman International denied the allegations made by Desmond and Mac Giolla. Goodman said it was shocked by the allegations made and that they were "false and malicious comments". "The use of the privilege of the Dail to further this campaign against an Irish company is a matter of the gravest concern," the statement read.
War in Iraq and emergency legislation
On 2 August 1990,
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutio ...
ordered his troops to
enter and occupy Kuwait. Initially the losses to the Goodman group and its bankers were estimated at £70m. By this time Goodman's companies accounted for 40% of the national beef kill, and had turnover in the region of £1 billion, almost all of it in exports. On 24 August 1990, share prices on the Irish Stock Exchange fell by £400m, with some of Goodman's companies including Food Industries (in which he held a 68% stake) falling from 170p to 110p.
By Friday, 24 August 1990 Taoiseach
Charles Haughey
Charles James Haughey (; 16 September 1925 – 13 June 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach on three occasions – 1979 to 1981, March to December 1982 and 1987 to 1992. He was also Minister for the Gaeltacht from ...
recalled the Dáil for an emergency session to pass a section of the Companies Bill on Tuesday, 28 August. Haughey denied that the legislation was being enacted specifically to aid Goodman. The legislation allowed for the courts to appoint an examiner who could freeze company assets for up to 12 months – compared at the time to US
Chapter 11
Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wheth ...
bankruptcy protection laws.
It later emerged that Goodman International was owed up to £180 million by Iraq and that the group owed over £400m to banks around the world – and that the group was "insolvent to the tune of somewhat under £100m". As the group holding company, Goodman International, was an unlimited company and Goodman was 98% owner, he could personally be called on to make good any shortfall owing to creditors.
''World in Action'' investigation
On 13 May 1991
Granada Television broadcast an episode of the investigative programme, ''
World in Action
''World in Action'' was a British investigative current affairs programme made by Granada Television for ITV from 7 January 1963 until 7 December 1998. Its campaigning journalism frequently had a major impact on events of the day. Its product ...
'' with
Susan O'Keeffe. The show examined the core business of Goodman International, how its operations were funded by national and European Community schemes, including export insurance and credit schemes, EC export subsidies and the variable premium paid on cattle. It claimed that the dominant position of Goodman in the Irish and British beef processing industry may not be in the best interests of consumers. It also made allegations of inappropriate political influence by Goodman. The programme featured Patrick McGuinness, a former Goodman accountant who had left the company and immigrated to Canada. The next day Opposition parties called for a full judicial inquiry into the allegations made on the programme.
Goodman said he would welcome any investigation from any source and that he would co-operate fully with it. He said he was astounded by the allegations made in the programme. He said that the malpractices alleged during the programme in relation to stamping and weighing meat had never been carried out in a "routine fashion", and if they had taken place they had done so without his knowledge or consent. He said systems that meant payment of £3 million in non-taxable wages to employees had existed but that this had been ended.
The Tribunal of Inquiry into the Beef Processing Industry, also known as the
Beef Tribunal, was established on 31 May 1991, chaired by Justice
Liam Hamilton. The Tribunal was tasked with
inquiring into the following definite matters of urgent public importance: (i) allegations regarding illegal activities, fraud and malpractice in and in connection with the beef processing industry made or referred to:-- (a) in Dáil Éireann, and (b) on a television programme transmitted by ITV on 13 May 1991; (ii) any matters connected with or relevant to the matters aforesaid which the Tribunal considers it necessary to investigate in connection with its inquiries into the matters mentioned at (i) above; and 2. making such recommendations (if any) as the Tribunal, having regard to its findings, thinks proper.
The Tribunal began hearings on 21 June 1991 and it reported its conclusions in July 1994, at the time the Irish State's longest running inquiry. The Tribunal was established by the then
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christia ...
/Progressive Democrat coalition, though only after the leader of the PDs, Des O'Malley threatened to pull out of the coalition if no inquiry was established. Then
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the o ...
Charles Haughey
Charles James Haughey (; 16 September 1925 – 13 June 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach on three occasions – 1979 to 1981, March to December 1982 and 1987 to 1992. He was also Minister for the Gaeltacht from ...
acquiesced to the demand.
Exports and Environmental Innovations
In 2015, ABP became the first European company to export to America, following the opening of the market after a 16 year long embargo on European beef products.
In 2018, ABP was the first Irish and European beef processing company to secure a contract in China. ABP secured a contract with restaurant chain Wowprime Corporation to supply beef to over 400 of its restaurants in China. The company also secured a contract with the JD.Com e-commerce platform to launch a range of premium Irish beef products.
The company’s processing site in Ellesmere in the UK is the first certified carbon neutral abattoir in the world. The production facility uses by-products from the meat processing operation to provide the heat and electricity for the site.
ABP’s renewables division, Olleco, was runner up for a global environmental award at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2019. Olleco was recognised for its contribution in helping the food and hospitality industries re-use the waste that they produce. Olleco collects
food waste
Food loss and waste is food that is not eaten. The causes of food waste or loss are numerous and occur throughout the food system, during production, processing, distribution, retail and food service sales, and consumption. Overall, about o ...
and used cooking oils and converts them into bio-energy and fuels.
In Ireland, ABP is a founding member of the Plastics Action Alliance, a coming together of like-minded food businesses with a common goal of reducing the impact of plastic packaging across the supply chain.
Firms make promises to reduce plastic packaging
'' RTE News'', 17 April 2019
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodman, Larry
1937 births
Living people
20th-century Irish people
21st-century Irish people
People from Dundalk
Irish businesspeople
Irish billionaires
People educated at St Mary's College, Dundalk