German confectioner Haribo has started building another production facility in the UK.
The project, which was provisionally set out by the firm two years ago, will include an investment of GBP92m (US$146.6m), leading to the creation of 286 jobs.
The site will be based in Castleford and will compliment Haribo’s existing facility in Pontefract, also in West Yorkshire. Once operational, the 30,700sq m plant will have an annual capacity of 48,000 tonnes, producing items such as Tangfastics and Starmix.
Construction on the facility has begun and is expected to be completed by April 2015 with the first two production lines fully operational later in the same year.
“After two years of planning it’s great to finally get to the stage where we are setting the foundations that support our plans for growth within the UK,” said Haribo UK managing director Herwig Vennekens.
“This investment in a new facility will enhance Haribo’s production capabilities and help us to meet the growing demand for our products. Our existing factory is near capacity and so this new site will allow for progressive expansion, enabling us to continue to extend our offering and to develop new and innovative products.”
Vennekens added Haribo has performed “extremely well” within the UK market during the last 12 months, and over the last six years has experienced “double digit growth year-on-year”.
Haribo received GBP6.4m of funding from the UK government’s Regional Growth Fund for the facility.
