2 Sisters ‘resurrects’ S&A factory, creating 200 jobs

The poultry giant bought the site after Asian ready meals specialist S&A Foods went into administration and made all its 300 staff redundant last year.

2 Sisters said the first phase of production would begin in mid-March and a further phase of production would start between late April and May.

‘Bring new jobs to Derby’

“We’re delighted to be able to resurrect this factory and bring new jobs to Derby,” a 2 Sisters spokesman told FoodManufacture.co.uk. 

“One of the things that first attracted us to the site was the close proximity to a high-calibre, dedicated workforce that we knew would be able to produce some great quality food.”

The factory, on the Sir Francis Ley Industrial Estate, is set to produce a range of meals including kebabs, ready-to-cook chicken and ready-to-eat chicken.

2 Sisters said the phased recruitment of about 200 employees would begin in February. There will be recruitment days at the site on Tuesday February 2 and Thursday February 4.

‘Getting site up and running’

“There is still a lot of work to be done in the background to make the factory fully operational, but our recruitment days next week demonstrate that we’re getting closer to getting this site up and running again in the very near future,” the spokesman said.

S&A Foods went into administration after Asda cancelled its contract for chilled, Asian ready meals.

The firm’s founder Perween Warsi, former Food Manufacture Personality of the Year, handed over control of the business to administrator Deloitte in October.

2 Sisters completed its acquisition of the site in December.

Meanwhile, for the latest jobs in food and drink manufacturing visit FoodmanJobs.