Noble Foods is investing £9M in an extra egg-packing facility at Witney, near Oxford for its Shell Egg division.
The company, a leading supplier of fresh eggs to major retailers, aims to complete the construction project early next year.
Happy Eggs, Noble Foods’ own fresh egg brand, will pass through the unit, as well as fresh eggs for top UK supermarkets, the company has confirmed.
Machines that sort and pack eggs will be installed at the Witney site, construction for which is being handled by Clegg Food Projects.
Two main packing sites
Noble Foods’ Shell Egg business already has two main packing sites, one at North Scarle in Lincolnshire and one at Fife in Scotland, serving the north of England and north of the border.
The firm claims the Lincolnshire site is the largest free-range packing centre in the world, handling more than 32M eggs weekly.
Built in 1974, it can automatically check eggs for size, grade and defects and contains a recently-installed plastic tray system that washes and sanitises every tray, divider and pallet.
‘Industry-leading’
Richard Stowey, project director at Noble Foods, said the “professionalism and competitiveness” of Clegg Food Projects’ tender “was vital as we look to build an industry-leading free-range egg packing centre”.
John Moxon, business development director at Clegg Food Projects, said: “We are delighted to be working on such a significant building contract for a leading company in the food industry …
“We always ensure we work very closely with our clients. We have already participated in a collaborative value engineering programme with Noble Foods and look forward to strengthening our successful working relationship with them.”
