The new owner of the former Sunjuice facility in Llantrisant has won a substantial contract to supply 500 Iceland stores with 14M litres of own-label juice a year.

Fruitapeel, which acquired the factory and its assets last year in an auction after Sunjuice went into administration, is also in discussions with other supermarkets and convenience stores, said md Terry Haigh. "Fruitapeel is recruiting production staff to join its senior management team, and anticipates employing 49 people by the end of the year."

While the Llantrisant site has historically focused on own-label products, Fruitapeel also plans to launch a new brand of fresh and pasteurised juices in March and is confident of producing more than 30M litres of juice and smoothies by the end of the year, said Haigh.

Fruitapeel plans to invest a further £4.5M in the Llantrisant plant, which has also received support from the Welsh Assembly government.

For more information on jobs in the food industry see http://jobs.foodmanufacture.co.uk