Gwynedd food firm plans to create 150 jobs as part of £6m expansion plan

A £6million expansion at a food distribution company will create 150 new jobs in a major boost to the economy of rural Gwynedd. Over the past three year sales at Harlech Foodservice have increased from £32m to a record turnover of around £50m, with profit at an all-time high of more than £2m in the current year.

One of the major reasons for the growth was a change of strategy which has seen the firm win a raft of public sector contracts in health and education, in addition to its core customer base in tourism and hospitality. As well as expanding into the North West and the Midlands, the company has also opened a new depot in Merthyr Tydfil to cater for new clients in South Wales.

Now new investment will see processing and warehouse capacity almost doubling in the next five years. The expansion will happen over three phases costing a total of around £6m and the firm is expecting turnover to double to around £100m over the next five years, with 150 new jobs created.

News of the investment was revealed during a visit to Harlech Foodservice by Liz Saville Roberts, MP for Dwyfor Meirionnydd and her Senedd counterpart, Mabon ap Gwynfor. They were given a briefing and a guided tour of the firm’s headquarters site near Criccieth by managing director David Cattrall and joint chairman Andrew Foskett.

Mabon ap Gwynfor said: “The investment that’s going into the site is incredibly positive news because it shows growth, progress and confidence, not only in this wonderful business but also in the workforce.

“It’s clear to me that the people who work here are committed and appreciate that they’re working for a company which treats them well and they provide salaries that enable people, including young families, to live in their own area.”

Ms Saville Roberts said: “The fact there is so much investment going into this site will give them the potential to grow and create more employment, making the business secure on this site. I’m proud to do anything I can to help them because companies like Harlech Foodservice are the backbone of the economy in rural counties like Gwynedd.

“There’s been a decline in public sector employment in this area so it’s good to see quality private sector employment, with decent wages, decent career opportunities and security of employment.”

Earlier this year the family firm increased the capacity of its giant freezer by 25% after reconfiguring the racking with narrower aisles and adding an extra row. As part of the plan the company also bought “bendy” forklift trucks that can navigate the tighter spaces.

Managing director David Cattrall said: “We have squeezed as much space as we possibly can out of the existing facilities and what we now need to do is make the site bigger as part of our next phase of expansion. We’re expecting our turnover to double to around £100million over the next five years and we’re building with that in mind.

“The expansion will happen over three phases costing a total of around £6million – we will be gaining an extra 80 per cent in processing and storage capacity so it’s going to be a gamechanger for us. It’s going to enable us to reach farther afield in the whole of Wales go out into the Midlands and North West England, from our home base in Gwynedd. We’re having a record year for sales in the company’s history and a record year for profit even though we are reinvesting heavily in making the business fit for the future and making sure our prices are aggressively competitive.”

Joint chairman Andrew Foskett added: “This investment is a major vote of confidence in this site and wider Gwynedd. We’re a family-owned business and we are keen for the heart of the operation to remain located in this area. The upshot is that we’ll be creating 100 jobs at our headquarters site and 50 jobs elsewhere over the next three to five years We’ve all had a tough time through the pandemic but these are really exciting times for Harlech Foodservice.

“The level of investment we’re putting in is unprecedented but it is absolutely essential so that we can continue growing and play our part in boosting the local economy.”

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