UK snacking giant Pladis has invested £68m ($91.6m) across its local operations.
According to the Godiva chocolate owner, most of the investment is earmarked for its sites in the north-west of England and is expected to help boost the growth of some of its best-known brands.
At its factory in Stockport, where it manufactures McVitie's biscuits and Jaffa Cake, Pladis is investing £21m to introduce a new chocolate moulding line featuring robotic technology.
Meanwhile, at a site in Aintree, where Jacob's Cream Crackers are made, Pladis will spend £33m on projects including the installation of new ovens and infrastructure.
A further £2m will be used to invest in the group's savoury assortments department further north in Carlisle.
Some £12m has also been allocated to support infrastructure across its UK sites which - alongside Stockport, Liverpool and Carlisle - include facilities in Halifax, Harlesden in North London and Leicester.
The business said it is also furthering its sustainability goals with the investment, as it is expected to cut 876 tonnes of carbon emissions each year across its UK operations.
Founded in 2016, Pladis employs 16,000 people across 27 bakeries and factories in 11 countries, with its brands sold in more than 110 countries.
This latest investment rollout is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2026.
Mete Buyurgan, the MD of Pladis’s operations in the UK and Ireland, said the news marked “an important milestone in renovating our sites and unlocking capacity for our growth story".
Buyurgan added: “We have a fantastic suite of much-loved brands, baked by dedicated colleagues, and we have a responsibility to continue to nurture these brands for customers and consumers across the world. The news of these investments we are sharing today will enable us to achieve this.”
In March, it emerged Pladis had set out plans to close a US manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania.
The company told Just Food the closure of the facility in Mohnton “enables us to focus our resources” on the company’s other US plants – the Godiva chocolate factory in Reading, Pennsylvania, and a site in Big Flats, New York.
In September last year, Pladis revealed plans for expansion in the Middle East, North Africa and India via the opening of a new regional headquarters in Saudi Arabia.
March this year also saw the snacks manufacturer launch an accelerator programme aimed at supporting early-stage companies both locally and internationally.
