HARIBO UK officially opens £35 million Castleford warehouse expansion
Haribo has opened its new purpose-built £35m warehouse in Castleford.
The investment into expanding their Castleford premises includes the warehouse facility and a production and packaging line at the site on Whitwood Common Lane.
The project has been delivered in partnership with Wakefield-based Caddick Construction and built using local suppliers.
And it aims to allow the company to manage future product volumes, stock additional raw materials and packaging plus further modernise operations.
It will also support Haribo UK’s operations in Castleford and Pontefract - where the business employs more than 700 people.
For more than 50 years the sweet company has been operating in the district arriving in Pontefract in 1972 and opening their larger facility in Castleford in 2015.
Phil Murphy, chief marketing officer, Haribo UK and Ireland said: “We've been part of West Yorkshire for more than 50 years and we're very proud to call it home.
"The region plays a hugely important role in Haribo’s success across the UK, from the products we make here through to the people, skills and manufacturing expertise that support our operations every day.
"Being the UK’s leading sweets manufacturer is something we are incredibly proud of, and this investment reflects the important role West Yorkshire continues to play in that success.”
Yvette Cooper, MP for Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley said: "It was great to cut the ribbon at the opening of the new warehouse.
"I’m really pleased that the new warehouse will allow them to expand and continue to support 700 jobs across our area."
"Haribo are a brilliant manufacturer who have been at the heart of our towns for decades, carrying on our sweet making tradition."
And Steve Ford, regional managing director, Caddick Construction North East and Yorkshire, said it was a privilege to work on this impressive expansion project.
He said: “It has been especially significant with Haribo making such a huge contribution to employment locally to our Wakefield head office.”
The company will also return as headline sponsor of this year’s Pontefract Liquorice Festival, which will take place in Pontefract town centre on July 12.