First phase of poultry firm’s £1.6m expansion plan completes

The first stage of Soanes Poultry’s £1.6m factory extension project has been completed with the installation of a new chiller.

Work began on the £400,000 phase of the project in September 2018 and will increase chill capacity at the Middleton on the Wolds factory by 25%.

Soanes Poultry’s Managing Director, Nigel Upson, said: “In addition to the infrastructure projects completed in 2017/18, the extension project will enable us to increase whole bird processing and expand our portioning capacity in response to customer needs and the completion of the chiller is an important step.

“It is a state-of-the art chiller with high efficiency cooler controls and a robust leak detection system that protects the environment.

“It’s a significant investment that marks a new and exciting chapter in our history and goes hand in hand with work underway to upgrade our farms to develop further our high animal welfare standards.”

The factory extension project is part funded by the European Agriculture Fund for Rural Development, with a £610,000 grant secured by Westley Consulting.

Work will start on phase 2 of the project in January, 2020. Once it is finished, it will create 15 additional jobs in the sales and marketing, processing and distribution departments.

Soanes Poultry is a family-owned business which has been rearing and preparing chicken since 1947. It currently employs 120 people and sells its chicken to butchers and independent retailers in Yorkshire and to wholesalers nationwide.

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