Harlech Foodservice has announced a £6m expansion project that will see the wholesaler double its warehouse and processing capacity over the next five years, which the company says will double its turnover to £100m and create 150 new jobs.
Managing director David Cattrall explained that Harlech has squeezed as much space as it possibly can out of the existing facilities and expansion will happen over three phases and gain it an extra 80% in processing and storage capacity.
Earlier this year the family business increased the capacity of its giant freezer by 25% after reconfiguring the racking with narrower aisles and adding an extra row. The company also bought new forklift trucks that made it easier to navigate the tighter spaces.
Furthermore, as well as expanding into the North West and the Midlands, the company has also opened a new depot in Merthyr Tydfil to cater for new clients in South Wales.
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News of the investment was revealed during a visit to Harlech by Liz Saville Roberts, MP for Dwyfor Meirionnydd and her Senedd counterpart, Mabon ap Gwynfor.
They were given a briefing and a guided tour of the firm’s headquarters site near Cricieth by Cattrall and joint chairman Andrew Foskett. It was explained that over the past three years sales have increased from £32m to a record turnover of around £50m, with profit at an all-time high of more than £2m in the current year.
One of the major reasons for the growth was a change of strategy which has seen Harlech win a raft of public sector contracts in health and education, in addition to its core customer base in tourism and hospitality.
Roberts said: “I am delighted that so many local people are employed here and that the reach of Harlech Foodservice is growing, reaching across North Wales down into South Wales and across into the North West and the Midlands. The fact there is so much investment going into this site will give them the potential to grow and create more employment, making the business secure on this site. I’m proud to do anything I can to help them because companies like Harlech Foodservice are the backbone of the economy in rural counties like Gwynedd.”
Foskett added: “This investment is a major vote of confidence in this site and wider Gwynedd. We’re a family-owned business and we are keen for the heart of the operation to remain located in this area. The upshot is that we’ll be creating 100 jobs at our headquarters site and 50 jobs elsewhere over the next three to five years.
“We’ve all had a tough time through the pandemic but these are really exciting times for Harlech Foodservice.
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