Morrisons, the U.K.-based supermarket giant, has big plans for what was formerly known as the Kerry Foods site located in Grimsby.
According to reports, Morrisons has officially submitted a planning application that aims to expand the Europarc site in a fashion that would double the company’s fish processing capability and up the Grimsby location's girth from 35,000 to 120,000 square feet. If the plan is approved, additional preparation areas, production areas, plant rooms and ancillary accommodations will be outfitted to the factory site’s south side.
The expansion could potentially add 300 jobs to the region, which would nearly make up for the 337 jobs lost in 2012 when Kerry Food Ltd. underwent a corporate restructuring and mothballed the factory site. The existing processing factory currently employs 200 workers.
"The current processing unit has now been operational for two years and with the demand for seafood showing no sign of decline, Wm Morrison Supermarkets have actively been exploring opportunities to expand its seafood operation within Grimsby to further enhance the product offer,” a Morrisons spokesperson told the Grimsby Telegraph.
“The new space will mean we can manage the entire process of preparing fish ourselves and because that's efficient we'll be able to offer even better value to our customers," added the Morrisons representative.
By way of its existing fish processing facilities, Morrisons already produces 250 metric tons (MT) of fish each week. The pending addition will allow the retailer to further develop new divisions for packing, chilling and filleting.
This is just the latest tide-turning seafood bid made by the dominant grocer in the past few years; in 2014, Morrisons opened a facility at the Humberside Seafood Institute to accommodate increasing online demand.
If all goes well, the new Kerry Foods site expansion will be up and running by year’s end, although an exact date has not been set.
