Scottish potato crisp company Mackie's at Taypack is set to double its output after developing a new manufacturing facility in Errol, which is 60% bigger than its current unit at nearby Moncur, Perthshire.
Production will more than double when the food manufacturer relocates next month (August), with the number of 150g bags produced rising from 96,000 to 201,000 during a single shift. Increasing production will also create an unspecified number of new jobs.
The new factory is being developed at the former site of Errol Brickworks, which closed in 2008 after being in operation for about 150 years.
'Substantial'
The food company is developing the Errol site with the assistance of a "substantial" funding package from Clydesdale Bank's Business and Private Banking Centre in Perth. The project, which is costing a seven-figure sum, has also received public funding.
The business, which currently employs 30 staff, was formed in 2009 as a joint venture between Perthshire potato farmers, the Taylor family, and Aberdeenshire-based luxury ice-cream maker Mackie's of Scotland.
The company's turnover is projected to rise to £4.6M this year from £3.1M in 2012. In April this year the firm produced one million bags of crisps.
In the UK, Mackie's crisps are stocked by all of the major retailers in Scotland and Asda recently launched three varieties of its crisps in 70 stores in England and Northern Ireland.
Exports growing
Exports are also said to be growing and the company now supplies crisps in 20 countries around the world, including Canada, the US, and Australia.
"Moving to Errol is an enormous step forward for us," said George Taylor, md of Mackie's at Taypack.
"Our spacious new production site will not only enable us to double production virtually overnight, but will also provide us with space to upscale the business further in years to come."
