SOANES POULTRY is nearing completion of a £3.3m extension of its poultry processing plant.

The project will expand capacity by 20% and create new 15 new jobs across the firm’s sales, marketing, processing and distribution teams.

A new marketing initiative is to name the farm manager on every chicken that the Middleton on the Wolds-based poultry producer.

Improvements

“Over the last three years, we have invested several million pounds to make improvements to our factory, the team’s working conditions and our farms,” Soanes Poultry general manager, Nigel Upson, said.

“Improvements to the effluent plant, energy store, lairage, chiller, packing and portioning rooms have been made, and our new flagship farm at Horn Hill is now complete.

“By the end of the summer, we will have completed work on the effluent collection sump, the offal collection shed, cladding to the rear of the building and the installation of new machinery to improve quality.

Future growth

“All of these changes will help us to manage future growth and to maintain and exceed the highest standards of presentation and taste that have won us many awards over the years,” concluded Mr Upson.

Soanes Poultry is a family-owned business which has been rearing and preparing chicken since 1947.

It currently employs 120 people and sells its chicken to butchers and independent retailers in Yorkshire and wholesalers nationwide.