UK – Tulip food company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Danish Crown is investing US$12 million (£10 million) in capacity expansion at its Redruth bacon factory in Cornwall, UK.

This is part of the company’s strategy to make the Redruth factory the UK’s leading bacon manufacturing centre of excellence.

The investment targets to improve the factory capabilities as well as significant expansions to enable the company to serve a growing market for value-added bacon products.

It further reinforces the company’s commitment to innovation and new product development including reduced salt, reduced nitrite and nitrite-free products.

On top of the upgrades, Tulip has invested in high-speed slicing lines and new equipment and processes to reduce packaging costs and improve overall efficiency.

“This investment, which comes on the back of a significant bacon contract win for Redruth, forms part of renewed customer focus as we look to drive growth for Tulip and with the challenging bacon category,” said Andrew Cracknell, Tulip CEO.

“It also demonstrates our ongoing commitment to the Cornwall region and puts us in a robust position to grow the site & category in the years to come.”

Tulip is also implementing additional skills training and bolstering its innovation capacity to accelerate the development of new products in line with changing consumer tastes and preferences.

This move is the latest investment undertaken by the company to upgrade its UK production network in order to increase production capacity across its meat portfolio.

“This is an exciting time for Redruth and this investment shows our desire to create the UK’s leading bacon manufacturing site,” said Peter Broomfield, Site Director, Tulip Redruth.

“Investing in both our facilities and people ensures we can continue to lead the way in bacon production and drive growth for Tulip and the category as a whole.”

In August last year, the company invested over £1 million (US$1.25 million) in a new mincing line at its factory in Tipton, UK, to improve efficiencies and increase output.

Tulip also invested US$3.01 million (£2.3 million) at its Ruskington scotch egg and snacks factory in the UK.