Moy Park completes phase one of £20M investment plan
The investment programme at the plant in Dungannon, Northern Ireland, has already increased production from 1.3M birds a week to 1.8M birds a week.
The financial boost at the factory was part of a £170M expansion plan, announced last year, across Moy Park’s poultry processing sites.
Moy Park UK and Ireland director Alan Gibson said the company was delighted to mark 40 years of production at Dungannon with the major investment.
“Phase one has been extremely successful, enabling us to grow production significantly over the last year and provide an optimum level of service to our customers,” Gibson said.
‘Technology advancements and production efficiencies’
“This investment brings technology advancements and production efficiencies, and has also created an enhanced working environment for staff – a number of whom have been with Moy Park Dungannon since it opened 40 years ago.”
Investment at a glance
- Increase in production from 1.3M to 1.8M birds a week
- Production set to hit 2.3M on completion
- Plant in Dungannon employs 2,000 workers
Moy Park Dungannon’s general manager Ronnie Newell joined the factory in 1975 and has seen the facilities grow over the past four decades.
Newell said: “When Moy Park opened the Dungannon plant, we processed 120,000 birds per week and had around 150 employees.
“Today, we are processing around 1.8M birds per week here and have 2,000 employees.”
Production is set to increase again to 2.3M birds a week on completion of the £20M investment programme.
Goals of investment
“This investment brings technology advancements and production efficiencies."
- Alan Gibson, Moy Park UK and Ireland director
£180,000 investment in four incubators
Last week Moy Park also announced a £180,000 investment in four “revolutionary” incubators at its hatchery in Craigavon, Northern Ireland.
The incubators provide greater control over temperature, humidity and ventilation as well as supplying precise amounts of oxygen for eggs and chicks.
Earlier this month Moy Park posted a 30% drop in pre-tax profit despite a 1.1% increase in revenues in the second quarter (Q2).
In June, parent company Marfrig Global Foods agreed to sell Moy Park to Brazilian meat processing giant JBS in a deal worth £944M. The sale is due to complete in the third or fourth quarter.
