Moy Park creates 55 jobs at new £20M hatchery
The facility in Newark-on-Trent supplies 60 farms across Lincolnshire and hatches 2.5M chicks a week – the largest single-build hatchery in the UK, claimed Moy Park.
Speaking at the plant’s opening, David Gibson, director of agriculture at Moy Park, said: “This significant investment has created a world-class hatchery and will ensure Moy Park is well equipped to meet demand for locally sourced, high quality poultry products.
“With technologically advanced equipment and a focus on the highest standards of biosecurity, our Newark hatchery embodies our commitment to agricultural and operational excellence.”
Significant investments
Moy said the new hatchery in Newark was part of the company’s wider growth strategy, which had seen the company make significant investments across its integrated farming and processing facilities in the UK.
The firm processes 5.7M birds a week, making it one of the largest poultry producers in the UK.
Chief executive Janet McCollum added: “Over the last number of years, we have strengthened our production capabilities and together with our network of 800 dedicated farming partners across the UK, we have continued to develop our agriculture estate.
“This latest announcement builds on that success and ensuring that Moy Park continues to meet the evolving needs of customers and consumers.”
‘Evolving needs of customers’
The investment followed the sale of Moy Park to US giant Pilgrim’s Pride in September last year, in a deal worth £1bn, from parent company JBS. The processor said the deal would provide the US firm with a platform for growth in Europe.
In January last year, Moy park confirmed 70 jobs were created from the completed £4M investment at its Ashbourne factory, which now processes more than 1M chickens every week.
Meanwhile, Nestlé Waters is to expand its bottling and distribution plant in Buxton, Derbyshire, creating more than 70 new jobs.
