Quattro Foods, a sauce and soups manufacturer based in Portsmouth, is set to create new jobs at its factory.
An investment of more than £300,000 means 18 new roles have been created.
New lease
The company took on a new ten-year lease at their Oak Park industrial estate site at the beginning of 2018. This was a big expansion for the company, and represents a huge commitment to continuing their growth over the next decade – a big promise for a company that has been going since 2010.
Since opening the new premises, they have already managed to create six new food jobs there, a number which is set to grow very soon according to their latest reports.
Their investment of more than £300,000 at the new site was partly secured through the Solent LEP funding scheme, making up 20% of the total. They were able to use the funding to install new chillers and freezers, among other expenditures, with production at the site having begun in early April.
“With the opportunity to fit out our new premises from scratch, we have been able to include state of the art equipment that will enable us to continue to grow the business further, as well as creating new jobs for local people,” said Managing Director Sam Brower. “I’m really proud to have a great team who have worked so hard since 2010 to make Quattro the success it is today.”
The new unit lease was brokered by Holloway Illiffe & Mitchell, a property consultancy, working on the behalf of an unnamed private investor.
Tom Holloway, director at the consultancy, said: “With diverse businesses such as Quattro expanding their requirements, this area of Portsmouth is becoming increasingly popular with occupiers looking for well located premises which are simply not available in or close to the city centre.”
Second site
Quattro Foods has two sites in Portsmouth with the addition of the Oak Park facility. The other is based on Portfield Road, and contains their main manufacturing facilities. Those premises are not suitable for expansion, which is why they chose to move to a second site for further growth.
Brower said, “The landlord at Oak Park Estate has been very supportive and accommodating while we refurbished the new space and there is now potential for Quattro to expand further on this estate in the future.”
This will be great news for food recruitment, although it has not yet been disclosed in which particular department the jobs will be available. It is almost certain that some new team members will be required for the factory floor, in order to help increase the production of the site and help smooth the process for the expansion. There may also be supervisory roles available, although that is only conjecture at this point.
Quattro Foods supplies its products to a range of restaurant chains and other small businesses. They also supply NHS Wales and the education sector, with customers across both the UK and Europe.
Their sales were up to more than £3 million last year, and the company expects that figure to rise for 2018 – especially after the expansion provides more opportunities for production and sales. That in turn will provide more fuel for future growth – or so the company directors hope.
If you wish to keep up to date with the latest food jobs, be sure to subscribe to email updates from our job boards. You can also check back regularly after bookmarking our job search page – or a specific search category which fits your requirements the best, to cut down on time.
