Pet food producer hungry for expansion with £6m investment
North Yorkshire-headquartered Inspired Pet Nutrition, (IPN) which is behind the Harringtons and Wagg pet food brands, is investing more than £6m in its production operations.
The money will be spent at the company’s plant at Kinmel, North Wales, and will triple the site’s wet dog food tray capacity to more than 75 million units a year.
The 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.
It will be three times faster than the existing line and will be focused on the wet tray production for Harringtons, whilst also seeing IPN move to create its own label products also.
Overall wet dog food capacity will be increasing by 75% compared to last year, with further increases over the next 18 months as the 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 of the Thirsk-headquartered company, added: “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 £100m Masterbrand across multiple categories and species.”
The new filling equipment will also enable IPN to offer pet owners a choice of wet tray formats, including recyclable aluminium trays, which are expected to grow in popularity as owners become a more eco conscious.
