More than 200 jobs are to be created in West Wales with support from the Welsh Government at a new beef processing and packing facility to service a major contract with Sainsbury’s.
Dunbia is investing £7.5million to create 208 jobs at Felinfach, near Lampeter, with support from a £1.8m business finance grant from the Welsh Government. The new facility is to be operational by February 2014 and recruitment will commence immediately.
The news was announced today (Wed Dec 18) by Economy Minister Edwina Hart on a visit to Ceredigion. The Minister said:” I am delighted that support from the Welsh Government ensured this investment came to Wales and will create jobs in the rural economy. It is good news for the Welsh food industry, the farming community and Ceredigion.
“The announcement of job losses at Sharp, near Wrexham, earlier this week was a stark reminder of just how volatile the economy remains. Dunbia is already a significant employer in rural Wales and a major player in the red meat sector which was worth £595million to the Welsh economy in 2012 .
”This investment supports Welsh Government policies and initiatives to increase added value processing of agricultural produce in Wales to ensure the benefits are retained in Wales and help create jobs and spread prosperity.
”I am also pleased to hear of the training schedule and skills development programme proposed by Dunbia and the company’s commitment to developing their staff.”
Jonathan Young the company’s Group HR Director said: “This is a really exciting opportunity for Dunbia and we are looking forward to building a talented and enthusiastic team at Felinfach that will share our passion for growth and our focus on quality, value and success for our customers.
“We want to see our people progress and Dunbia’s culture of offering employees training to help them achieve their full potential is instilled throughout the business and is something we are proud of.”
The new facility will be created at the former DairyGold site in Felinfach which Dunbia used as an interim lamb processing site while its Llanybydder site underwent a £12m redevelopment between 2011 – 2013.
That investment and expansion was also supported by the Welsh Government and safeguarded 268 jobs and created a further 75 jobs, and positions Dunbia as one of the most progressive companies in the region.