£4.7m food factory will create 150 jobs in town

AUK food company has announced plans to invest £4.7 million into a new factory in the Black Country.

Brackley-based Avara Foods said the project in Wednesbury would create 150 new jobs in the town.

Work has started on converting a factory unit in Black Country New Road, which previously housed the SV Cuisine meat processing plant, and it is expected to be operational by Christmas.

The investment includes an internal and external refurbishment and the installation of new food processing machinery with a focus on automated processes to reduce the number of manual and repetitive tasks.

Avara Foods supplies some of the UK’s largest supermarkets and restaurants and the new facility will produce a range of poultry products.

The new facility will bolster the company’s presence in the West Midlands where it already operates facilities in Telford and Dudley.

General manager Rob Bywater said: “This is an exciting time for

Avara and I’m really pleased to confirm that we’ll have a new facility in Wednesbury.

“The site will be a well-invested modern food manufacturing operation and increases our presence in a region where we already have a strong reputation for success.”

Operations director Phil Davidson added: “We’ve been part of the community in the West Midlands for a number of years and we really value the skill, commitment and loyalty of the people here.

“It’s a big commitment on our part but it makes perfect sense to double down in a part of the country where we’ve enjoyed a lot of success.

“I know the last 18 months have been pretty tough but we’ve worked really hard to keep the team at Avara safe and, by offering real careers, not just jobs, I hope that this is another piece of good news for the community.”

Avara Foods was established in 2018 as a 50/50 joint venture between Cargill and Faccenda.

The company operates a fully integrated supply chain across agriculture, processing and distribution, with approximately 7,000 staff.