Nestlé's £200M restructure of UK coffee factories

A spokeswoman told FoodManufacture.co.uk: “This is the first time in the UK that all forms of coffee production including: freeze dried, spray dried and pod technology, will be brought together on one site.”​

As part of the restructuring plan, production at Nestlé’s coffee factory in Hayes will transfer to Tutbury, leading to the closure of the Hayes site in 2014.

“Although the Hayes factory plays a vital role in Nescafé production. the layout of the site means that it is not feasible to redevelop the site to create the manufacturing facility we need for the future,”​ said the spokeswoman.

The firm said it had begun a consultation with its 230 employees at Hayes.

It added that 125 new jobs will be created in Tutbury through the transfer of production from Hayes. This is in addition to the 300 new jobs in Tutbury announced in November 2011.

£110M extension​

Last November, Nestlé announced a £110M extension of its Nescafe Dolce Gusto facility at Tutbury.

Paul Grimwood, chairman and ceo of Nestlé UK & Ireland, said: “Over the next three years, we are investing £500M to establish our next generation of world class manufacturing facilities in the UK. The proposed restructuring announced today, which will bring all our coffee manufacturing together at Tutbury, is a key part of this overall investment programme.”​

Grimwood added that employees at the Hayes site make “an outstanding contribution”, ​to the firm’s Nescafe business, and the factory will continue to play a vital role through to 2014.

“We are creating over 400 coffee manufacturing jobs at Tutbury and we will therefore have alternative jobs to offer our 230 employees in Hayes. We hope that as many of our employees as possible will remain with us at Nestlé,”​ said Grimwood.

UK​ headquarters​

Meanwhile, earlier this month, after years of speculation, Nestlé confirmed its intention to move its UK headquarters from Croydon, south London to a site near Gatwick airport by the end of this year.

Speaking earlier this month, Grimwood said: “This move represents an exciting new chapter for Nestlé in the UK. We are investing across the UK to establish our next generation of world class facilities. Our new head office will provide a modern, efficient and attractive workplace for our people, in an ideal location.”​

Nestlé UK and Ireland employs about 7,000 employees across 19 sites.

Nestlé’s UK investments over the past five years:

• £200M investment in its York confectionery factory.
• £40M investment in a European centre of excellence for Nestlé Cappuccino in Dalston, Cumbria.
• £20M spent on a seasonal confectionery manufacturing centre in Halifax
• A new £35M bottling plant in Buxton to open later this year.
• £7M expansion of the firm’s global Research & Development centre for confectionery in York.