Banham Poultry to move into next stage of improvements
Banham Poultry is ready to move forward with the next phase of multi-million pound improvements to its processing plant in Attleborough.
With £160,000 having already been invested in updating the factory’s handling and product despatch areas in recent months, a further £500,000 will now be invested in the next phase of the upgrade, which will begin in the coming weeks.
This will see a complete overhaul of the site’s “outdated and dilapidated” odour abatement system – news that may well be welcomed by local residents who have previously complained about foul smells wafting from the site, particularly during the summer months.
Over the past 18 months, Banham Poultry’s owners, who purchased the business in 2018, have invested a total of £11 million in the 12-acre site as they seek to modernise the production process.
Upcoming work will include replacing existing ventilation infrastructure and raising odour neutralisation capacity to help ensure that discharge thresholds are achieved.
Banham Poultry managing director Blaine Van Rensburg said: “This significant programme of improvements to totally transform our Attleborough plant will make it one of the most modern in the sector.
“The work will not only enhance the facility, which I’m sorry to say had previously suffered from years of under-investment, but it will also benefit those living in close proximity to our site by reducing both noise and odour emissions.”
Following a fire at the factory on the outskirts of the town two decades ago, Banham Poultry moved to its current location, which was initially meant to be a temporary stop-gap while the building was replaced.
Mr Van Rensburg added: “We are fully committed to reducing our impact as much as possible and, over the coming months, this work will help us achieve this.”
Work at the factory, which employs around 800 people and processes nearly one million chickens a week for the UK domestic market, is due to be completed by late spring.