Private label dry pet food manufacturer GA Pet Food Partners will officially open its new state-of-the-art Ingredients Kitchen later this month.
After five years of planning and an additional four years of construction, the Ingredients Kitchen at Plocks Farm in Bretherton, Lancashire, will be officially opened on Friday May 20 by Alistair Bradley, leader of Chorley Borough Council.
The £80 million facility will allow GA to sample and test the more than 600 ingredients produced by over 130 suppliers arriving at the plant, providing complete traceability of raw materials for the more than 800 different formulas created for partner customers. The site features driverless automated guided vehicles (AGVs) to move ingredients and foods around the site and a dark store/warehouse operated solely by robots.
The Grand Opening will also provide a platform for the company to outline its plans for a mutual journey to net zero for the Bretherton plant by 2050 by committing to using renewable and carbon-free energy sources. The event will be followed by an Open Weekend, allowing employees and local residents to tour the facility with their families.
Chairman Roger Bracewell said: “The Grand Opening of the Ingredients Kitchen is GA’s opportunity to say thank you to all those involved in the design, construction and commissioning of this technologically advanced process and for them to be proud of their achievements.
“GA has been supported throughout by Chorley Council, and this encouragement has allowed GA to grow over the last 30 years, where we now employ over 850 people. As GA continues to look to the future, it hopes to work with local residents and the Council on a mutual journey to a carbon-free world.”
