Heinz sauces were last made in the UK in 1999
The Kraft Heinz Co. has announced plans to invest £140 million (US$198 million or Euro 164 million) at its plant in Kitt Green, Wigan manufacturing site in the United Kingdom.
Reportedly the largest food manufacturing facility in Europe, the investment into the factory would be the largest by the manufacturer in more than two decades and is subject to approvals from the US head office later in the year.
The money would be spent on further modernizing the manufacturing capabilities of the site over the next four years, focused around three key pillars - bringing Heinz sauce manufacturing back to the UK to build additional European capacity, further upgrading machinery and driving the plant to deliver its environmental, social and corporate governance commitments,
Kitt Green currently produces 13 billion cans of food per year, of which 94% is consumed in the UK. Kraft Heinz brands including Heinz Beanz, Soups and Pasta will continue to be produced at the Kitt Green site for the UK market.
Luis Spinardi, Site Director at Kitt Green said the proposed investment would allow the site to adopt more contemporary ways of working while maintaining high global standards for food manufacturing,
“As a result of this proposed investment, we are now in the fortunate position where Kitt Green can become a much more modern facility and our teams will have the ability to adopt more contemporary ways of working whilst exemplifying the highest global standards for food manufacturing. Not only are we excited to be expanding our product mix by bringing sauces back to the UK but also look forward to a more efficient facility with a sustainable future," he added.
New machinery at the site would also allow Heinz to minimize the use of non-renewable sources, producing items that are fully recyclable and ultimately helping to considerably reduce the site's CO2 footprint. To enable employees to operate this machinery, Kitt Green will be providing upskilling opportunities whilst envisaging the creation of up to 50 new full-time positions.
Meanwhile, Sausage maker Heck has doubled capacity and created 20 new jobs as part of a £3.5 million expansion of its Kirklington. North Yorkshire factory.
Sources: The Kraft Heinz Co., foodmanufacture.co.uk, foodbusinessnews.net, bbc.com
