With increasing demand for their products, Aspall is seeking to purchase a new, high capacity apple press and associated processing infrastructure. The new facility will allow them to increase the amount of apple juice they can process for both their cyder and apple juice products, and in turn create new jobs.
In total, the new apple press will enable Aspall to supply customers with an additional 3 million litres of home grown apple juice at a more competitive price by 2018. This increase in processing will mean that Aspall will be able to purchase even more apples from local producers across Suffolk and Norfolk over the coming years, supporting further business growth within their supply chain.
The apple juice market in the UK has been dominated by European Juice being imported into the UK in recent years, something that the team at Aspall are keen to counter with their new facility, which will enable them to process apples to deliver both increased quality and increased yield.
Des Smith, Managing Director of Aspall, said:
“We are delighted to receive this grant from the Eastern Agri-Tech Growth Initiative to help us finance our new pressing facility. The new facility will help us to create jobs going forward and enable Aspall to enter new markets with English Apple Juice, a marketplace that is currently dominated by European Juice coming into the UK.”
Mark Reeve, Chairman of the Eastern Agri-Tech Growth Initiative and the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough LEP, said:
“Aspall is a strong local company with an ambition to grow further and create new jobs. They are exactly the kind of company we want to support via grants from the Eastern Agri-Tech Growth Initiative, so I am pleased to announce that we have committed £150,000 to this new facility.
“The project will not only allow Aspall to increase their production capacity, it will also enable them to be more competitive in the apple juice market, which is currently dominated by imported products from Europe. We ultimately want to see more English Apple Juice on the shelves of our supermarkets, and I believe this investment will help make that happen.”
Chris Starkie, Managing Director of New Anglia LEP, said:
“The food, drink and agriculture sector is one of the largest manufacturing industries in Suffolk and Norfolk. Aspall is one of the leading businesses in that sector – a company with a heritage of hundreds of years with a brand that is now recognised across the world. This grant will help them produce more and purchase more from local supplies boosting the supply chain and providing customers with millions more litres of home-grown juice.”
The Eastern Agri-Tech Growth Initiative is run by the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership (LEP) with support from New Anglia LEP, Norfolk County Council, Cambridgeshire County Council, and the local authorities covering this area.
Grants are available to organisations looking to invest in specialist equipment, new market and supply chain development, ways to improve productivity and efficiency, and the application and commercialisation of Research and Development.
To find out how the Eastern Agri-Tech growth Initiative could help to grow your business, visit www.agritechgrants.co.uk or call the LEP on 01480 277180.