Avara Foods has started thigh deboning operations at its new facility in Wednesbury, United Kingdom.
According to a message on the company’s website, a team of 25 workers completed their first day of successful production at the plant on December 20. That first day of production came just a couple of months since Avara obtained the plant.
“Although not yet fully functional, Wednesbury's start is an important trial period that allows us to optimize equipment and train key skills for when we commence production of a wider range of products,” the company stated.
During the past eight weeks, workers at the site have installed more than 1,200 meters of pipework for water, gas and air, and more than 1,600 meters of cables to the new lines and ancillary equipment.
“This is a huge achievement and a real team effort, with people from across Avara helping make this launch a success,” the company said.
Avara Foods has committed about GBP4.7 million (US$5.3 million) to the new facility, which will eventually be the workplace for a team with a diverse range of skills that supplies some the U.K.’s leading supermarkets and restaurants.
The company anticipates that the plant will be fully open in January 2022.
Avara Foods is a joint venture between Cargill and Faccenda Foods. The company produces chicken, turkey and duck through an integrated supply chain that is entirely based in the United Kingdom.·
Avara Foods, according to the Poultry International Top Companies survey, is the third largest poultry producer in the United Kingdom, trailing only 2 Sisters Food Group and Moy Park. Avara also ranks 11th among European poultry producers. During the past year, Avara Foods slaughtered 234 million broilers.
The company also recently underwent an upgrade at its poultry processing facility in Brackley, U.K., which enabled it to hire more workers and increase efficiency.
