Dunbia to invest in Welsh beef processing and packing facility

Dunbia, a UK-based meat processing company, is to invest £7.5m in its beef processing and packing facility in Felinfach near Lampeter in Wales.

The move, which comes after securing a major contract with supermarket giant Sainsbury’s, has been backed by a £1.8m grant from the Welsh Government, and will create more than 200 new jobs.

The facility will be developed at the former Dairygold site in Felinfach, which the company once used as an interim lamb processing site.

Recruitment will begin immediately at the plant, which is expected to enter commercial operations by February 2014.

Announcing the news during a visit to Ceredigion, Economy Minister Edwina Hart said she is delighted that support from the Welsh Government ensured that this investment came to Wales and will create jobs in the rural economy.

"The announcement of job losses at Sharp, near Wrexham, earlier this week was a stark reminder of just how volatile the economy remains.

"Dunbia is already a significant employer in rural Wales and a major player in the red meat sector, which was worth £595m to the Welsh economy in 2012," she added.

In addition, the company is planning a training schedule and skills development programme for its staff in Wales.

Dunbia’s group HR director Jonathan Young said: "This is a really exciting opportunity for Dunbia and we are looking forward to building a talented and enthusiastic team at Felinfach that will share our passion for growth and our focus on quality, value and success for our customers.

"We want to see our people progress and Dunbia’s culture of offering employees training to help them achieve their full potential is instilled throughout the business and is something we are proud of."

Dunbia currently employs 3,000 people, operating from 12 sites in the UK and Ireland and from sales offices throughout Europe.

The company sources and manufactures beef, lamb and pork products for retail, commercial and foodservice markets.

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Image: Dunbia’s new facility will be operational by February 2014. Photo courtesy of Grant Cochrane at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.