Moy Park £170m expansion to create 600 jobs

Northern Ireland poultry processor Moy Park has embarked on a £170m expansion that will create hundreds of jobs over the next four years.

The firm is to invest in three of its sites – Dungannon, Craigavon and Ballymena – adding capacity to its poultry processing. It will also establish an innovation centre aimed at developing new product lines and, for the first time, financial services.

In October 2013, Moy Park notified the Northern Ireland Executive that it could build up to 400 new sheds in the next four years .

Announcing the latest growth plans, enterprise, trade and investment minister Arlene Foster said the 628 jobs created would see a £10.5m boost in wages and salaries for the country.

“The expansion will further enhance Moy Park’s contribution to the local economy by enabling the business to achieve a substantial growth in sales, mostly to customers outside Northern Ireland, by 2018,” she added.

Invest Northern Ireland, a division of the Northern Ireland Executive that seeks business growth, will offer £9.5m towards the cost.

Janet McCollum, Moy Park CEO, said: “Moy Park started as a small farming company in 1943 and has grown into a top UK business with a £1.5bn turnover. We continue to have big ambitions and this investment will allow us to further grow our operations and create new jobs in Northern Ireland.”