A multi-million-pound investment creating around 100 jobs will be delivered after a national baby milk manufacturing brand purchased premises on the Staffordshire/Shropshire border.
Excelsior Foods, part of the wider Kendal Nutricare group, which owns the Kendamil and Bonya formula brands, has acquired the former Premier Foods site in Knighton, near Eccleshall and north west of Stafford.
In the region of 100 jobs will be part of the investment into a fully functioning operation over the next two years. They include laboratory assistants and production supervisors as well as HR and IT support.
The Cumbrian-based manufacturer has already started recruiting for some of the roles.
Chief Executive Officer, Ross McMahon MBE, said: “The purchase of this site shows our continued commitment to domestic manufacturing and supporting the world class British dairy industry.
“Like the Kendal site which we took ownership of in 2015, the Stafford site has a rich history and experience in food and drink production.
“It would have been a great shame to lose this site from the Staffordshire area and rural community. The facility will focus on dietary and nutritional products as well as supporting the growth of our wider group activities.
“We look forward to seeing this site return to its former glory in the coming 24 months.”
Premier Foods described the site as being unprofitable when it made the announcement that it was closing it last year.
The new site owner highlighted local knowledge of the industry and production, alongside Stafford Borough Council’s proactive approach to bring employment opportunities to the area, as reasons for locating the business in the borough.
The manufacturer is a Queen’s Award for Enterprise winner and was previously named one of Europe’s 1000 fastest-growing companies for its baby milk formula manufacturing business.
Siobhan Fotheringham, International Business Director for the group, said: “The Staffordshire location was a great option for us given the dairy industry on the doorstep, local knowledge of spray drying milk powders for nutritional products and the council’s willingness to work with us to bring good employment opportunities back to the area.”
Borough Council Leader, Aidan Godfrey, said: “This is great news and further demonstration of how we are attracting national brands to the area alongside helping our existing small and medium businesses to grow.
“Kendal Nutricare is a world-renowned organisation and have been looking at various sites throughout the UK – so to choose to build their new factory in our borough sends a positive message that this is a great area to invest, and do business in. This will bring new jobs, a boost to our borough economy, and, I expect having the site back in business will be helping the local communities already.”
He added: “But our work does not stop there. Having helped Excelsior Foods make the borough their new home we will continue to liaise with them and provide that ongoing support for this exciting new phase of their plans.”
