Cheese maker creates 50 jobs at £6.5M factory investment
The construction of the new 4,041 metres squared facility at the Snowdonia Business Park, Minfford, was supported by a £1.7M grant from the Welsh government.
GRH planned to move its existing operations from its Y Ffor, near Pwllheli, site to the new factory, enabling the business to double its production capacity and developing a new cheese innovation centre.
Andrew Hockridge, GRH md, said: “We have invested heavily in innovation, new product development and our people over the last two years and our success has meant we have reached maximum capacity at Y Ffor with increasing demand from customers at home and abroad.
‘Game-changer’
“Securing the £1.7M Welsh government grant was a game-changer to support our investment at Minffordd. That will now enable us to grow from a £16M business today to potentially up to £50M and employing a further 50 staff, over the next few years.”
GRH expected the Minffordd site to be fully operational from April next year, safeguarding the jobs of the company’s 70 existing staff, with a further 15 staff expected to be employed by the end of 2018.
Commenting on the company’s expansion plans, Wales’s cabinet secretary for environment and rural affairs Lesley Griffiths applauded GRH’s ambition to grow.
‘Economy is important’
“Their contribution towards the Welsh economy is important and it is good to see that our producers are taking innovation and new product development seriously,” said Griffiths.
“Investing in its people is a huge benefit for any business and I certainly wish GRH Food Company every success in its new home.”
Founded in 1989, GRH is a cheese packer and blended cheese business supplying more than 30 different cheese products under the Four Crosses, Signature, Pappa Ginos, Melts and Original Welsh Rarebit brands. The company has been operating from its Y Ffor site since 1997.
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Meanwhile, last month, Bells Food Group announced it had invested in a new £500,000 bakery and created 10 new jobs, after acquiring a former council depot next to its site in Shotts, Lanarkshire.