Written by William Kellett
Avara Foods – one of the UK’s largest food companies – and Herefordshire’s biggest private employer, continues investing heavily in its Hereford city operations.
The past two years have seen investments of over £6.5 million in new technology, site improvements and colleague development.
Now, as part of this ongoing commitment to sustained investment, a new automated packing line has been installed at its factory on Grandstand Road.
Featuring state-of-the-art food manufacturing technology, the new line handles diced products. Avara has also invested in new deboning equipment as part of its ongoing improvements at the plant.
Costing £1.9 million, these recent installations have increased production capacity and efficiency at the factory.
The company has also invested over £6 million in protective measures across its UK-wide operations, to keep employees safe during the coronavirus pandemic.
These include; screens and curtains installed along production lines to create physical barriers; floor markers laid in canteens and other shared spaces; and staggered shift start and finish times to reduce the number of colleagues coming into contact with one another.
Canteens and break areas have spaced-out seating, perspex dividers, additional cleaning regimes have been enacted in high-traffic areas and more hand sanitising stations installed across all sites.
Temperature checking of visitors, new starters and daily random temperature checking – along with a company-wide face covering policy – provides further peace of mind for those working at the factory.
The company’s sick policy has been amended in light of the pandemic to ensure that those required to self-isolate are not unfairly disadvantaged.
Increase in staff
With summer just around the corner and temperatures already warming up, production of barbecue products is also now underway at Avara’s Hereford factory; consisting of skewers and marinated meats.
This increase in seasonal production means the company is seeking around 100 more employees to meet demand, on either permanent or temporary contracts.
Marcus Billig, site manager at Avara Foods, Hereford, commented: “Avara remains committed to investing in its Herefordshire production and agricultural operations, and is proud of its long association with the county.
“We’re continuously investing in and improving how we work, and I’m delighted our factory boasts these upgrades,” he concluded.
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