The pies have it as growth continues at Pork Farms
One of Shropshire's largest employers has invested £8 million in new technology over the past three years – with more to come as it looks to continue its growth into 2015.
Bosses at Pork Farms Palethorpes in Market Drayton said upgrading machinery was vital to keep one step ahead of the competition.
The company employs 550 permanent members of staff, as well as an extra 200 temporary staff over Christmas, making it one of the larger private employers in Shropshire.
It makes savoury pastry products, such as sausage rolls and meat pies, for some of the biggest supermarket chains across the UK.
Chief engineer Paul Leese said: "We have a healthy ongoing capital investment programme because it's important that our technology is at the cutting edge to help our staff make the best quality products possible.
"Capital investment will continue to be a priority as we strive to continually improve our productivity and capabilities."
Among the recent investment was a £1.5 million "sous vide" plant. The equipment is of a French design and construction and is effectively a slow cooking process that produces a more tender meat for use in products.
More than £1 million was invested into new robot packing machines to speed up production, and managers are quick to point out that new machinery is not being used to replace staff.
Kerry Pye, HR manager, said: "Whenever we introduce new technology, such as the fast packing machine, the staff who were previously doing that job have been reassigned to other areas of the factory.
"We are hugely committed to our staff, who are the main reason the business is doing so well, and many of our employees have worked here for a long time which I think shows they feel valued and are proud of where they work."
Further investment is planned for the coming year with a £750,000 refurbishment plan which will include energy-efficient lighting and air conditioning installed in the factory.
Another project to improve the environmental credentials of the business will involve the replacement of an existing refrigeration system with a new energy-efficient ammonia plant.
Fridges are now fitted with motion-detecting sensors which switch the lights off when they are not needed, and sausage rolls are frozen using liquid nitrogen which takes them from unbaked to frozen in seven minutes flat.
Mr Leese added: "The process of making pastry products will always involve a combination of new technology and traditional techniques, for instance some of the pastry toppings are still cut by hand, and we want to maintain that tradition.
"But at the same time, we always need to make sure our machinery is efficient so we can keep competing in what has always been a tough marketplace."
Part of a nationwide group that includes other factories in Nottingham and Dorset, the Market Drayton plant made an astonishing 65 million sausage rolls in the run-up to Christmas, with more than 30,000 pastry products rolling off the lines every single hour.
The company has been on the same site in Market Drayton for more than 45 years, and has become a key part of the community with generations of families working at the factory.
