Ashford Borough Council meet with Premier Foods to discuss future opportunities

Recently, Cllr Simon Betty, Cllr Winston Michael and Andrew Osborne, Head of Economic Development at Ashford Borough Council, met the Factory General Manager of Premier Foods, to discuss the company’s opportunities in Ashford.

Premier Foods is a major grocery manufacturer for the UK with 90% of households in the UK buying one of the group’s brands and are also a long-standing employer in Ashford, with many residents having some connection to the site – be it through family members who have worked there or having been past or current employees themselves.

The meeting was a success, with the message being that Premier Foods are willingly keen to engage locally and reconnect more with the people of Ashford.

In addition, the Factory General manager stated that they’re incredibly proud to be based in the area and are always seeking local candidates for their vacancies.

Ashford heritage

The site Premier Foods operates within itself originally launched in 1957, first producing Vesta meals and then Batchelors’ products. In 2009, Premier Foods bought Batchelors and started running the operation after investing £25m into the Ashford site.

The Ashford site produces 300 products across 18 production lines, for brands including Batchelors, Angel Delight, Bird’s, Bisto and Paxo.

“Premier Foods are an important member of the Ashford business community and we’re absolutely delighted this meeting’s reaffirmed their commitment to the town,” Cllr Betty said. “The site has provided generations of Ashfordians with work and we look forward to future generations keeping that local history link going.”

As a company, Premier Foods has been ranked as the 55th Best Employer in the UK and the second best within the Food & Drink Sector.