EXXON/Mobil Chemical’s Fife Ethylene Plant (FEP) has continued its tradition of supporting veterans and ex-service men and women, as volunteers from the plant assembled 54,000 poppies for the 2018 Scottish Poppy Appeal.

For the fifth year running, members of staff at the Mossmorran plant gave their time to assemble both the traditional poppy as well as a special Centenary Poppy, commissioned by Poppyscotland, to mark 100 years since the end of World War One.

Representatives from the Lady Haig Poppy Factory in Edinburgh were invited to set-up in the FEP canteen with staff dropping in to help put together paper flowers and other items for the appeal, which is an integral part of Poppyscotland’s fundraising campaign.

Charlie Pelling, manager at the Lady Haig Poppy Factory said: “The volunteer programme with ExxonMobil FEP is one of the longest partnerships that the Lady Haig Poppy Factory has with a company, and it has been enormously successful. Their employees are incredibly engaged with the work that the charity does and are always welcoming when our trainers visit the plant to run the staff workshops.

“The support given by ExxonMobil FEP to the annual Poppyscotland appeal helps the factory meet its poppy quota of 5 million poppies, to raise vital funds for the British Armed Forces community.”

ExxonMobil FEP has also donated £1,000 to veterans’ charity Erskine, Scotland’s foremost provider of care for veterans and their spouses. The money comes from FEP’s Safety Incentive Scheme, which rewards excellent health and safety practices, ideas and movements across the plant by both staff and external contractors. The charity was nominated by a member of contractor Doosan Babcock’s team, which is currently working on a project at FEP.

Karen McAulay, Erskine Community Fundraising Manager said: “We would like to thank the member of staff who nominated us, we are touched they thought of Erskine. As a charity we rely on generous support such as this to maintain our commitment to care for Scotland’s veterans and their spouses and we are most grateful for the wonderful support we receive throughout Scotland.”

Catherine Cubitt, FEP’s community affairs assistant, said: “The annual Poppyscotland campaign is a hugely popular cause at FEP and is now a staple event in our annual calendar of activities.

"To make 54,000 is a new plant record and highlights the commitment of our staff to play a role in helping ex-service men and women. This has been extended with a donation to Erskine, which also provides highly valuable care to those that require it living locally and further afield.”

Around 180 employees and 50 core contractors work at FEP, with more than 60% living within six miles of the plan