British food company Symington's is set to transfer its noodle production from China to Yorkshire, UK, in order to respond more quickly to retailers' demands.
As part of the plan to shift the production, the company has cancelled contracts with two Chinese facilities, one in Guangzhou province and one in Hangzhou. The company will be shifting production to a new £15m facility in Hunslet, Yorkshire, which is scheduled to open in August.
The 70,000ft2 factory is expected to create 50 new jobs and boost the local economy.
The company noted that factors such as increasing labour costs in China, the inconvenience of shipping the noodles back to the UK, and the need for quicker response times are behind its decision to shift the production after a period of seven years.
It takes about eight to ten weeks to source noodles from China, according to the company.
Symington's business development manager Henrik Pade said that currently, it is possible to produce noodles for roughly the same cost in Yorkshire as in China.
In the past, it would probably have been 30% to 35% less in China, Pade added.
Symington's, based in Leeds, UK, offers products such as The Nation's Noodles, Normous Noodles, and Naked Noodles under Golden Wonder's brand.
