U.K. pork and poultry company Cranswick announced that it would be building a new poultry plant in Eye, Suffolk.
The company, while also announcing its financial results for the six months ending on September 2017, stated that it will invest GBP54 million (US$71.8 million) in the primary poultry facility and an additional GBP13million (US$17.3 million) investment to upgrade existing feed mill and hatchery facilities.
“As part of the development of our rapidly growing poultry business, we are announcing today our planned investment in a new primary poultry facility in Eye, Suffolk,” Cranswick Chief Executive Officer Adam Couch stated in a press release. “This class-leading facility, which is scheduled for completion in late 2019, will double our existing capacity with further room for expansion. The facility will incorporate the highest animal welfare standards and latest generation production techniques and equipment to drive operational efficiency gains. We also plan to upscale our feed mill and hatchery operations to maintain our fully integrated supply chain model.”
Previously, in the first half of 2017, Cranswick invested GBP29 million (US$38.5 million) in its infrastructure, Couch stated in the release.
Cranswick formed in the early 1970s as a producer of animal feed, and has since diversified as a pig producer and processor of pork, sausage, chicken, cooked meats, premium cooked poultry, air-dried bacon and gammon.
Cranswick expanded its presence in the poultry industry in 2016 with the acquisition of CCL Holdings and its subsidiary, Crown Chicken Limited. The deal was valued at GBP40 million (US$57 million). The company also purchased Benson Park, a cooked poultry business in October 2014, according to the WATTAgNet Top Poultry Companies Database.
Cranswick is headquartered in Sutton Fields, U.K.