Tulip Ltd, the UK’s largest higher welfare pork producer, has completed a major multimillion-pound investment at its abattoir in Ashton, Greater Manchester.
The £8M investment has increased production operations at the site and support Tulip’s higher welfare strategy in the UK market for the coming years.
As part of the investment, there will be upgrades and a change of layout to the butchering and packaging areas, including introducing new state-of-the-art machinery. This will help Tulip to maintain its safety record and ensure continued compliance, while also securing increased capacity, flexibility and efficiency, say the company.
Kurt Pedersen, Abattoir and De-Boning operations director for Tulip Ltd, says: “Tulip, with the support of parent company Danish Crown, has invested heavily in consolidating its position as the UK’s leading higher welfare pig producer, having last year acquired the Easey Holdings pig farming operation.
“To support the increased volume of outdoor bred livestock coming through the supply chain, we have implemented some major upgrades which will help us to increase efficiency, reduce complexity and allow us to link strategically with key customers who are looking to meet consumer demand for higher welfare pork-based products.”
In addition to enhancing production operations at the site, various site services have also been improved to reduce energy usage, supporting parent company Danish Crown’s commitment to developing a sustainable future for global meat production.
Catherine Gormley, site director at Tulip Ashton, says: “It’s a time of positive change for the Ashton site. The rejuvenation of our facilities and infrastructure will help us to meet the needs of customers going forward and ensure our processes are as efficient as possible. Animal welfare and provenance is a key priority for us, and the upgrades will mean we continue to have the best practices in place, while also allowing us to deliver the highest quality of product possible.
“In addition, our workforce is delighted at the news of the investment. Improving workplace conditions for our butchers and packing teams will, in turn, help us to retain our workforce and the industry-leading skills we have here at Tulip.”
The Tulip Ashton site has approximately 600 employees, making it one of the biggest employers in Greater Manchester. A large majority of the pigs processed on-site are outdoor bred on RSPCA assured farms. Earlier this year, Tulip partnered with the Co-op as they switched to a 100% outdoor bred pork supply chain, offering total traceability from farm to fork.
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.
