IF you live in Warminster, or have ever passed through the town, you’ve probably driven past the big glass building at the end of Fairfield Road and wondered what goes on inside.

In a nutshell, it’s Lyons Seafoods; one of the largest employers in the area with 350 staff and, impressively, the biggest processor of prawns in the UK.

The company, which includes a vast factory where 180 of the staff are based, supplies warm and cold water prawns and prawn cocktails to most of the major retailers in the UK.

But there’s more to Lyons than just the mass supply of seafood, as Operations Director Paul Succony explains.

“When I joined Lyons nine years ago, my role was to get the factory working more efficiently,” he said.

“My view was, and still is, that the best people to do that are the people we employ, not me. Lots of people who work in factories don’t feel important to their business but we help people feel proud to work here.

“We do that by explaining the supply chain to every member of staff, detailing every individual process as well as having a strong set of company values.

“That way, every member of staff can see that they have a valued place in the chain and nobody has a job more or less important than anyone else.

“At Lyons, we make people feel good about coming to work, which means we have a very low level of absenteeism.”

Mr Succony’s claims are backed up by the fact the company was awarded with a Silver Investor in People award in 2014, and is going for the prestigious Gold award in 2017.

Site Production Manager Sharon Gale, 50, has been working at Lyons for nearly 30 years.

She said: “People don’t just learn about the food industry by working here, they can also gain qualifications and their confidence levels increase – we see it all the time.

“That’s done with the help of our ‘Pride’ training programme which we’re extending to all employees. It consists of five modules and has been accredited by the Institute of Leadership & Management.

“It has really changed the direction of the company for the better since it was introduced.

“Some people are quite quiet when they start here but after proper training and support, they become completely different – it’s great to see.”

As well as the welfare of staff, Lyons prides itself on sourcing its products responsibly and takes the matter seriously. Their policies cover food safety, traceability, animal welfare, social standards and packaging.

Lyons is a multi-functional business with teams of talented and highly qualified people looking after sourcing, purchasing, finance, technical and engineering to name but a few.

​It’s safe to say that there’s very little fishy business going on in that big glass building.