A major investment is planned at a pet food manufacturer in North Wales that will transform productivity and increase job numbers.
Inspired Pet Nutrition, the company behind the popular Harringtons and Wagg pet food brands, is investing more than £6 million at its Kinmel Park plant at Bodelwyddan in Denbighshire, formerly home to Hotpoint.
This investment will triple the site’s wet dog food tray capacity to more than 75 million units a year.
There are already nearly 100 workers at the factory - up from 85 in 2019 - with the company saying “these figures show no sign of slowing”.
READ MORE: Tourism and hospitality groups tell Welsh Government how to protect self-catering firms
Turnover at IPN Kinmel has risen dramatically from £11.5 million during the financial year ending June 2019 to more than £20 million in the last financial year ending in June 2021.
The new investment will follow a two-stage process, with the first stage coming later this year in the form of a second processing and filling line, boosting efficiency.
The investment being commissioned is to be fully operational by January 2023.
The new line will be three times faster than the existing line – which already runs 24/7.
It will be focused on the wet tray production for the popular brand Harringtons, whilst also seeing IPN move to create its own label products.
With the new investment, overall wet dog food capacity will be increasing by 75% compared to last year, with further increases over the next 18 months as the investment project is complete.
Dominic Whelan, site operations manager at IPN Kinmel, said: “The wet tray market in both the branded and own label sectors looks set for even further growth, and this significant investment will ensure we can meet demand.
“Two years ago, IPN Kinmel produced about 4,000 tonnes of finished goods, this has now risen to an astonishing 10,500 tonnes.”
James Lawson, CEO at IPN, said: “This is an exciting development for the business as we will significantly increase production at Kinmel - the UK’s only FreshCook and carbon negative wet food facility – and it will help us on our journey to become the UK’s most sustainable pet food manufacturer.
“The investment will also play a key role in making Harringtons a £100 million Masterbrand across multiple categories and species.”
The new filling equipment will also enable IPN to offer pet parents a choice of wet tray formats, including fully recyclable aluminium trays.
