EHL invests £1m in new Stockport facility
EHL Ingredients’ 743m2 unit, on the Broadstone Hall industrial estate in Stockport, houses a new vertical form filler that fills pillow bags and tubs for dried herbs and spices, seeds and powders, along with other products.
The third unit takes EHL’s total space on the industrial estate to 3,715m2.
The company said additional capacity would allow it to process greater volumes of food ingredients, driven by an increase in customer requests and from existing customers placing larger orders.
Tasneem Alonzo, joint managing director at EHL Ingredients, said the company had outgrown its capacity in terms of storage, staff, machinery, administration and loading areas, so needed a space to expand longer term.
“We decided to stay on the same industrial estate instead of moving our whole premises so when this unit came up, we were keen to review it,” she explained.
‘Taking orders for larger quantities’
“Over the last 12 months we’ve been taking orders for larger quantities, which means we need to increase capacity.
“This new site will allow us to process more orders and higher volumes, more efficiently and quickly and the installation of the new machinery will enhance production and allow us to continue to innovate further.”
Last summer, EHL launched a foodservice brand run by a dedicated team. Lähde is a range of premium, organic and conventional ingredients and blends tailored toward foodservice providers, chefs and caterers.
EHL currently has 46 employees, its largest headcount to date, and is recruiting for several roles across the business. It recently rebranded and launched a new website.
Alonzo said the food ingredient sector was “certainly” in a period of growth – and with the rise in popularity of organic, free-from, vegan and vegetarian foods, EHL was “continuously innovating to bring retailers, brands, manufacturers and caterers the right ingredients to suit consumer trends”.
‘Confident in our position’
“Despite the uncertain times we are in, we’re confident in our position as a company,” she added.
“We’ve strengthened our teams, developed many new herb and spice blends, broadened our product portfolio and expanded our customer base into new territories, especially in Scandinavia.”
Established in 1996, EHL supplies around 300 individual food ingredients and has a 200-strong organic range, as well as more than 70 custom blends and seasonings.
Its products include herbs and spices, beans, lentils and peas, herbs, nuts and dried fruits, seeds and flakes, grains and rice, oils, vinegars, salts, sugars and syrups, as well as other ingredients such as flour, honey and fruit concentrates.
It offers certified vegan, vegetarian, organic and gluten-free ingredients and blends. All products are claimed to free-from genetically-modified organisms, fumigation, colouring, synthetic flavourings, preservatives or additives.
