The first phase of a huge investment by Hilton Seafood in Grimsby has completed.
Group chief executive Philip Heffer cut the ribbon on the significant expansion of office space and staff facilities, a multi-million pound addition to the South Humberside Industrial Estate site.
It will be followed by the £20 million ‘Project Polar’ - the launch of the prominent automated cold store and warehouse facility that has emerged by the A180 entrance to the town, one of three production facilities the company operates in Grimsby. It comes with an ambition to double the business's scale.
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Matt Lee, who heads up the non-meat ventures for the FTSE-listed company, said: “It is a really, really proud day for Hilton Seafood. We know there is a really tough economic climate out there at the moment, a lot of businesses are stepping back, we are not. We are investing further, and we’re absolutely delighted to open up the new offices and restaurant, with much more investment going into Hilton Seafood.
“Hilton is striving to be the protein provider of choice across all the protein categories we operate in. That means we’re aiming to be the seafood provider of choice, delivering for partners, consumers and our people in the local communities we operate in.
“Part of the reason we have made the significant investment is we want to be the employer of choice in the area. We know how important the facility is in the local area, we strive to employ the best people and the place people want to work at.”
Grimsby’s FSC delivered as principal contractor, with praise for bringing it through on-time against raw material headwinds.
More than 1,200 people are employed by Hilton, with the traditional meat business having diversified and bought the merged Coldwater and Seachill entities from Icelandic Group in 2017.
Vegetarian businesses have also been added, alongside a further seafood firm in Dutch entity Foppen - with chief executive there, Andre van der Padt, taking the seafood remit for Hilton as managing director.
Looking ahead to the next phase’s completion, with Polar’s commissioning anticipated later this year or early next, Mr Lee added: “The office development, alongside the automated cold store and warehousing system - a £20 million investment - sends a clear message we are here, serious about seafood, and want to be the leading seafood supplier for the UK and abroad.”
The build has added significantly to the site’s footprint, with Rob Walsh, chief executive of North East Lincolnshire Council, joined by seafood industry guests Simon Dwyer and Marcus Coleman, to see the unveiling.
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Andre van der Padt arrived in Grimsby with more than a quarter of a century’s experience in food production, across several sectors and geographies.
Speaking to Business Live for the first time since his appointment in June, he said: “It is a great business, and the opportunity given to me, wanting to double revenues through growing, building and investing appealed. What is happening is a huge investment, and it is challenging me, how we can grow quicker, faster, higher and more beautifully, rather than just optimising profit.”
He told how Foppen, although a Dutch company, has 80 per cent of its sales in the US, followed by Asia and some domestic trade.
“We have international markets, but we want more. To grow internationallty is a great challenge. If they'd said come to Grimsby and retire, I wouldn’t have done it. This is something to manage and focus on, to grow and grow.”
The aim is to take the vegetarian and meat products over the Atlantic too, with the company’s Saucy Fish Co brand having enjoyed some success previously.
Used to “big factories and production people” having worked in dairy and sugar as well as seafood, he told how through talking to people as he walks around he is already well versed in Grimsby Town’s promotion, with invites to take a game in.
Impressed by Cleethorpes, having spent time getting to know the area, he also oversees sites in Greece and the Netherlands, with Laforey Road and Russell’s Smokehouse also part of the Grimsby cluster.
A new staff restaurant is planned for Great Grimsby Business Park, the company’s fresh fish site, with potential for two line extensions currently being looked at.
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