Oils and fats firm AAK plans £30M investment

After investing more than £10M in a new deodoriser, AAK, which recently signed a multimillion pound deal to become Premier Foods's sole supplier of oils and fats, is ready to make further big investments, said md Martin Craven.

The latest investment was part of AAK’s response to the changing needs of its customers, Craven added. Its deal with Premier Foods will last three years and was given the go-ahead following the investment in the new deodoriser at its King George Dock site in Hull.

Premier Foods ​

“We’ve just signed a three-year supply deal with Premier Foods, on the back of doing existing business with them, making us their exclusive oils and fats supplier,​” said Craven.

Premier Foods’s commitment to AAK is part of the company’s wider ‘Invest to Grow’ programme to enable new business opportunities, as well as strengthen and grow relationships with its key suppliers.

“The development of long-term partnerships is an excellent way to ensure we can continue to innovate in support of our brands,”​ said Mark Hughes, group procurement director at Premier Foods.

AAK has an annual turnover of more than £300M in the UK and has significantly invested in its operations to improve production.

Benefitted ​

Its bakery and fats plant has benefitted from a £2M investment, while £5M was recently pumped into its foodservice packing line. A further £0.5M was spent on tray packers at the company’s condiment site in Runcorn.

Look out for our feature with Craven about his plans for investment at AAK’s Hull site in the future.