Cider firm invests £5m into production venture

An award-winning Cornish cider producer and visitor attraction has made a £5m investment into its production infrastructure and onsite visitor experience.

As part of the investment, the business has doubled its processing capacity, with the introduction of new apple bays, an innovative water transportation system, and an additional press.

The new infrastructure will ensures a higher quality of juice thanks to less bruising and better cleaning of the apples.

JoeHealey, managing director of trading at Healeys, said: “This latest investment shows our continued commitment to expand our production processes and enhance visitor experience. We’re committed to the long-term sustainable development of the farm, and always enjoy integrating a unique visitor experience along the way.

“We’ve introduced a new water recirculation system, which aims to filter, treat and recirculate our pressing water, so it can be reused throughout the season, which together with our rainwater harvesting, should reduce our water consumption per litre of cider produced” Joe added.

Behind the scenes, tank capacity has increased by 60% with the addition of six new temperature controlled 100,000 litre fermentation tanks, (holding the juice of approximately six million apples in total).

“These developments are part of our long-term vision to reduce our carbon footprint, without compromising on the quality of our products. Since moving to the family farm in 1986, we’ve planted over 25,000 trees, have invested in both wind and solar energy, and hope to achieve the milestone of 75% of our energy requirements being produced onsite, from renewable sources within the next five years.  We’re constantly looking to improve and develop our processes to encourage productivity and growth and have some exciting plans for the next part of our journey!” Joe said.

Kay’s Cyderhouse is also home to a collection of Healey Cars, with the family being direct descendants of Donald Healey, inventor of the famous ‘Austin Healey’ car. Visitors are able to enjoy a birds eye view of the pressing facility before continuing their journey through the main bottling and keg halls. Founded in 1980, Healeys is the largest independent cyder-maker in the county.