The 54,000 square foot facility is set to be fully operational by the end of 2024 and was developed following a £4m investment.
The new unit is adjacent to the current Extons Foods site in Wythenshawe and includes a secondary grating line that is dedicated servicing retail clients. This new line will reduce changeovers and is expected to be fully functional by September 2024.
The unit also provides an additional 250 pallet spaces and includes a planned extension of warehouse, packing room and production lines to ensure a safer and better working environment for Extons staff.
Extons Foods is one of the UK’s largest independent cheese processing companies, supplying cheeses to sandwich manufacturers, wholesalers, foodservice businesses and retailers across Europe. It processes 450 tonnes of cheese a week and employs 150 members of staff.
Extons Foods has ‘bounced back’
Founded in 2000 by Liz Parkinson, Extons Foods initially supplied local sandwich shops with grated cheese. Now, as we approach the end of 2023, the family business is on course to turnover £100m.
Parkinson said that Brexit and Covid had led sales to drop by 70% almost overnight, before explaining that the business has now “bounced back” and is experiencing “enormous growth”.
“This investment into extending our current facility comes at a time when we’re looking to reaffirm our commitment to our customers through modern, world-class, cutting-edge production to serve increased demand from our wide and varied client base,” added Parkinson.
“Extons is a people-first, caring company with a loyal team, enabling us to have one of the best reputations for service and quality in the industry. We’ve stayed true to our roots and continue to reinvest in the local community, never moving away from South Manchester.
“Our staff are our greatest asset; we want to reward our workforce, and to enable them to offer much-needed employment and provide crucial investment into the local area.”
In other news, Food Manufacture spoke to the new managing director of British Sugar about his vision for the business.
