Fish frenzy! 2 Sisters expansion means 10m more ready meals

The expansion will allow the factory to produce 25 additional lines in the ‘Ready to Cook’ fish meal category. It will include investment in potato cooking, mash processing, sauce cooking capability and new chilled storage facilities.

The development follows a contract win with a major customer, and 2 Sisters says the additional 20% capacity will enable it “to grow alongside customer demand”​ in the sector. 

2 Sisters would not disclose the name of the client, but said its customers are all the major supermarkets. The contract is reportedly with Marks & Spencers.

Skilled workforce​

The Cavaghan & Gray factory will equip an 8,000 sq ft (circa 750m2) production facility at its Riverbank site, adding 90 more jobs to the 1,000 strong work force.

The new roles will range from production and engineering to management.

A spokesperson said Carlisle had been chosen for expansion for a number of reasons, including a skilled workforce, available space, and production of other lines for the same customer at the factory.

Open in September​

“This is fantastic news for the business and will secure a lot of new jobs for the area,​” said William Duncanson, site director.

“This announcement further strengthens our strategic partnership with our customers and it also reflects the confidence held by them in the whole team here in Carlisle,”​ he added.

“We’ll now be focusing on the hard work ahead to get the new facility up-and-running and get the new lines in stores for later this year.”​

The new facility is scheduled to be in operation by September.