Avara Foods invests £6.5m to grow Hereford site

Part of its company-wide investment programme, the Hereford site has had improvements in factory technology, facilities and worker pay and development to help increase capacity to 100,000 chickens per week.

The £6.5m forms part of a wider investment programme at the site designed to increase efficiency and productivity. As well as technology, the business is boasting a £9.28 per hour starting rate of pay as part of it commitment to be a “people business first and foremost”​. It added that investment in new technology is also bringing new job opportunities, requiring new and greater skills, and that is providing a wide variety of training and development opportunities, including apprenticeships that run from Level 2 to degree level, opening up new ways to earn and learn.

Site manager Richard Walden said: “Our investment programme is great news for the city. Improving our operating infrastructure, increasing productivity and raising pay will improve efficiency, retain our valued colleagues and help make sure we are a sustainable business for the long term. We offer a great range of employee opportunities, ongoing development and training, and we’re excited to welcome new colleagues to our team.”​

Avara Foods chief commercial officer Chris Hall added: “Our Hereford operations have been key to the company’s wider success, and will be for the foreseeable future. The site undertakes a significant amount of specialist processing and directly supplies some of our biggest customers. This investment is all about making sure this site is fit for the future and cements our place as the city’s largest employer. We’re looking forward to celebrating more successes in Hereford over the coming years.”​