Food giant Danish Crown has announced plans for a major new facility in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, that will produce more than 900 tonnes of bacon and gammon a week when fully operational.
The company will invest more than £100m in the new 30,500 sq.m. factory, which will use highly automated production equipment and the latest processing technology. The facility is due to begin production in the second half of 2023 and will create around 300 jobs.
Danish Crown noted that the new site will be fully powered by renewable energy and built to “market-leading environmental standards”, supporting its wider ambition to deliver climate-neutral meat production by 2050.
Jais Valeur, CEO, Danish Crown said: “Danish Crown has a long heritage in the UK, bringing British consumers high quality bacon and pork products for over 135 years. This investment forms the next step in our commitment to the UK market, bringing our customers a reliable, transparent supply of high-quality bacon to help meet demand, produced to high sustainability and welfare standards.
“The future of meat will be based on high-quality products that are as sustainable as possible. We know this is an ambition shared by many of our customers in the UK and with this new factory, we look forward to working more closely with them towards a more sustainable future for food production.”
The new investment will create Danish Crown’s first production facility in the UK in three years, following the sale of its Tulip subsidiary to Pilgrim’s in 2019.
