Blakemore Fresh Foods invests £3.5m in new cutting plant

31-Jan-2011 - Last updated on 31-Jan-2011 at 09:01 GMT

AF Blakemore has pumped £3.5m into a new temperature-controlled fresh meat cutting plant in Hilton Cross, South Staffordshire.

The business has been relocated from the Long Acres Industrial Estate in Walsall and would allow the firm to sock a wider range of products and improve efficiencies, said trading director Richard Brownjohn.

“This is a huge, long-term investment in Blakemore Fresh Foods and will be a key factor in our ambition to grow our sales to £30m over the next five years."

The new site will provide more cold storage, better production facilities, loading bays, pallet wrappers and an improved hygiene system.

New features include a new energy-efficient refrigeration system, a heat reclamation process that will provide free hot water, LED lighting, light sensors and a high tech energy management system, said operations director Bob Cash.

"Hilton Cross is one of the most modern and environmentally efficient storage and cutting plants in the UK.”

One-stop-shop

Blakemore Fresh Foods supplies a wide range of meat from English, Welsh and Scottish lamb and beef to Dutch bacon, South American beef and New Zealand lamb.

The firm, which employs 30 staff, is part of West Midlands-based Spar wholesaler AF Blakemore.