Danish Crown subsidiary Tulip will invest £10 million to improve production capability and capacity at its Redruth factory in Cornwall, UK, as the company aims to turn the site into ‘the UK’s leading bacon manufacturing centre of excellence’.
The investment will pay for the installation of new high-speed slicing lines and new equipment and processes, in order to reduce packaging costs and improve overall efficiency.
On top of these upgrades, the Redruth site is also implementing additional skills training and bolstering its innovation capacity to accelerate the development of new products to ensure the company can meet evolving consumer demands.
Part of the site’s innovation programme includes developing reduced salt, reduced nitrite and nitrite-free product lines, in response to consumer concerns surrounding nitrites.
Tulip reduced the salt across its bacon products in 2018 and earlier this year reduced the amount of salt in its gammon range.
Andrew Cracknell, Tulip CEO, said: “This investment, which comes on the back of a significant bacon contract win for Redruth, forms part of renewed customer focus as we look to drive growth for Tulip and with the challenging bacon category.
“It also demonstrates our ongoing commitment to the Cornwall region and puts us in a robust position to grow the site & category in the years to come.”
Peter Broomfield, Site Director, Tulip Redruth, said: “This is an exciting time for Redruth and this investment shows our desire to create the UK’s leading bacon manufacturing site.
“Investing in both our facilities and people ensures we can continue to lead the way in bacon production and drive growth for Tulip and the category as a whole.”
This move is the latest investment undertaken by the company to upgrade its UK production network in order to increase production capacity across its meat portfolio.
This strategy included the investment of £2.3 million in its Ruskington, UK, production site to support the increased demand for core traditional products, and an investment of around £1 million in a new mincing line at its factory in Tipton, UK, to increase output at the site.
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