2 Sisters has revealed that a £27.5 million investment in its south west supply chain last year helped it grow by a third to more than a million birds a week.
Expansion plans in the region included a combination of rebuilding, refurbishing and adding extra poultry houses on existing sites, as the south west region manages 12 company farms and over 130 independent contract growers.
According to the company, £2.5 million was invested in the PD Hook hatcher at Kentisbeare, Devon, and another £25 million was used to fund the company farms run by Hook 2 Sisters – a joint venture between the owners of PD Hook and 2 Sisters.
Further expansion by specialist family farms in the area is expected to boost the region’s credentials as a “significant supplier of free-range and organic chicken”.
Hook 2 Sisters general manager, Chris Chater, said: “The investment in our growing base has injected fresh optimism and provided farmers with the confidence to grow their business alongside ours.”
A spokesman for 2 Sisters noted: “The increase in the growing base means that our Willand facility is now processing over a million birds every week, which is a fantastic achievement by our colleagues and a new milestone for the site.”
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.