Premier Foods Celebrates The 60th Anniversary Of The Ashford Food Factory.

4 December, 17

Premier Foods, one of Britain’s largest food producers, celebrates the 60th anniversary of its factory in Kennington Road, Ashford.

As part of the celebration and in conjunction with National Tree Planting Week, the factory will be planting 60 trees across the Ashford area, comprising 5 trees each at 10 local schools and a further 10 trees at the factory.

Colleagues were joined by The Mayor and Mayoress of Ashford, The Director of Kent County Council and representatives of the Woodland Trust.

Premier Foods Ashford hopes to continue its work with the Woodland Trust and local schools in protecting the natural environment. Whilst the tree planting celebrates the 60th anniversary, it serves the dual purpose of cleaning up the community’s air and providing a lasting monument to the colleagues. This marks the Company’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions and helping to remove a total of nearly 2,750 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere.

Simon Ellmore, Factory General Manager for the Ashford site commented: “I’d like to thank staff, past and present, for their hard work and dedication over the past 60 years. Since Premier Foods acquired the factory in 2006 the number of colleagues at the factory has more than doubled to just under 400. This has supported our efforts to innovate and develop products so that they meet the changing needs of consumers.  The tree planting demonstrates not only our commitment to protecting the environment, but also to educating our local children and community about the value of sustainable growth. As well as passing on these principles, we hope the event will also leave them with a lasting and treasured memory.”

With more than £20m invested over the past ten years, the factory now produces 50 million sachets of Batchelors Pasta & Sauce and 55 million cartons of Batchelors Cup A Soup a year. Of the 30 million cartons of Paxo stuffing produced at the factory, the Company sells 70% of this volume between October and December and this allows consumers to make 300 million stuffing balls over the festive period. The factory’s newest innovation is the Batchelors Pasta ‘n’ Sauce Pots which will continue the momentum seen by Batchelors Pasta ‘n’ Sauce packets, currently experiencing 18% growth.1 Other products made at the factory in Ashford include Angel Delight desserts and Bisto gravy.

The trees were donated by the Woodland Trust, the wellington boots by Needlers, the soil by Travis Perkins in Ashford and the equipment by Wickes in Maidstone and B&Q in Ashford.

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