Kraft Heinz has announced that it will be investing £140m in one of its UK food manufacturing facilities over the next four years.
The plan for the Kitt Green plant on the outskirts of Wigan will see the production of Heinz ketchup, mayonnaise and salad cream returning to the UK after moving to the Netherlands 20 years ago.
The factory is already one of Europe’s largest food manufacturing sites, making 1.3 billion cans of food a year. The new investment will see it start producing the popular sauces, as well as continuing to make soups, pasta and baked beans.
The money will also fund equipment and technology, and create up to 50 new full-time jobs.
The plant’s site director, Luis Spinardi, said: “Not only are we excited to be expanding our product mix by bringing sauces back to the UK but also look forward to a more efficient facility with a sustainable future.”
Kraft Heinz stated it would be the firm’s biggest expansion of a manufacturing site outside the US in more than 20 years and one of the largest proposed investments in British manufacturing since Brexit.
UK Minister for Investment Gerry Grimstone commented: “The Kraft Heinz investment is a vote of confidence in the UK economy from a major US firm and a boost that will mean jobs and growth for the local economy.”
