150 jobs as Avara commits £4.7m to new Wednesbury factory
Avara Foods, one of the UK’s leading food companies, continues to grow and has committed around £4.7 million to a new factory in Wednesbury which will eventually bring more than 150 additional jobs to the area.
Work has already started to get the site ready and Avara expects to be operating before Christmas.
The investment includes a full refurbishment of the former site SV Cuisine cooked meat process site in Black Country New Road, inside and out, as well as new food processing machinery.
The site will be technology led, with automated processes to reduce the number of manual and repetitive tasks.
Avara Foods supplies some of the UK’s largest supermarkets and popular restaurants, and the new facility will produce a range of poultry products, to meet growing demand.
With an initial start-up complement of 50, Avara’s Wednesbury facility will immediately be home to a team with a diverse range of skills, roles and experience. Recruitment has started, and applications are welcome from anyone.
“This is an exciting time for Avara and I’m really pleased to confirm that we’ll have a new facility in Wednesbury,” said Rob Bywater, general manager at Avara.
“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. And it is our people that are the key to that success; we know that they want a fair wage, the opportunity to learn and earn more over time, and more than anything else to be genuinely valued and looked after. I am very proud that we offer this and so much more. It really is a great time to join us.”
While the national labour shortage is creating problems for some businesses, Avara is committing more resources to an area where they already operate, with sister-sites at Hortonwood, Hadley. Telford and Navigation Drive, Brierley Hill, to meet business growth and rising demand.
“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,” said Phil Davidson, Avara’s operations director.
“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 is one of the UK’s largest food businesses, supplying chicken and turkey, It 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 employed across the business.
Earlier this year Avara recruited 130 full-time staff at Brierley Hill, which increased operation from five days a week to seven to meet demand.
Last year more than 100 new jobs were also created in Telford to meet rising demand for poultry products.
