Karro Foods invests £6.5m in latest technologies for Cookstown factory

The sum, which has been generated by the private-equity backed business, makes up the most of a £10m capital investment programme that Karro hopes will drive new product development.

The improvements are to be carried out over the next 12 months and come as the company continues to deliver on its turnaround programme after becoming independent in January 2013.

The investments, all due for completion in 2015, include £6.5m investment in new chilling and processing technology at Karro’s Cookstown facility, a £1.5m upgrade to the gammon processing line at its Malton site, a further £1m investment in the new kill line in Malton and £1m in new packing lines at Karro’s Haverhill site.

Di Walker, executive chair at Karro Food Group, said: “This significant investment demonstrates Karro’s commitment to use the latest technologies to enhance our already excellent product quality and provide the best service possible to our valued customers.

“It is further evidence that we are well-ahead of our five year turnaround plan, and gives us added capability to develop our strategic retail and trade partnerships and enter new markets.

“The underlying performance of the business continues to gain momentum and we are extremely positive about the outlook for Karro Food Group. Furthermore, we will be in a position to report another year of significant financial improvement when we release our 2014 accounts in the coming months.”