Morrisons has invested more than £31M over 18 months in its Farmers Boy fresh food processing facilities in Bradford, creating 150 jobs, and plans further investment in jobs and production.
Morrisons runs factories across the UK as part of its vertical integration model
The cash has been pumped into a range of features, including a new pie preparation room and improvements to existing factory equipment at the Bradford site.
The company said it was also working on a £6.5M quiche line, which would create 50 more jobs when it was completed in 2014.
In addition, it claimed to have taken on more than 250 apprentices in its manufacturing operation this year.
Morrisons runs its own meat, fresh produce, fish, bread and flower factories among its 17 sites across the UK as part of its vertical integration strategy.
'Proud to be investing'
"As a Yorkshire company we're proud to be investing £30M in one of our fresh food facilities in Bradford," said Morrisons ceo Dalton Philips, speaking during a tour of the site by business secretary Vince Cable yesterday (November 28).
"And it's not just buildings and equipment that we're investing in, but also training some 50 skilled apprentices at our Farmers Boy site alone."
Speaking during his visit, Cable said: "The manufacturing sector is vital to building a stronger economy – supporting 2.5M jobs and contributing almost £140bn a year to the UK.
'Economy becoming stronger'
"As this week's Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) Barometer figures show, more British manufacturers are starting to see an increase in orders. This is a further indication that our economy is becoming stronger, which means more jobs and more business for the companies who depend on Morrisons further down the chain."
According to MAS Barometer figures, representing the views of more than 500 small to medium-sized companies across all manufacturing sectors, more than 56% reported sales growth in the past six months. That amounted to a 3% rise over the previous quarter.
Two thirds expected growth between now and April 2014 and 39% planned to take on new staff, according to the survey results, released on November 25.
