Mars invests £23 million in King’s Lynn manufacturing site

Mars Food UK is to invest £23 million in its King’s Lynn manufacturing site, creating 28 new full time jobs.

The investment means the King’s Lynn site, which currently employs nearly 300 people, will have new manufacturing capabilities for the manufacture of Uncle Ben’s Ready to Heat Rice. Mars says the new production line will be completed early next year and will help meet demand for the Ready to Heat rice produce across the UK.

An announcement about the new production line was made during the official opening of new £6 million pound office facilities at the site. The Rt. Hon. Elizabeth Truss, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) made the announcement and commented on the investment: “This significant investment by Mars is a real vote of confidence in Britain as a place to do business, creating jobs locally and helping drive economic growth for the nation.

Michael Ryan, Regional President, Mars Food, Western Europe & Russia, added: “We have been manufacturing from this site for over 50 years and continue our commitment to investing and growing the site which manufactures some of the UK’s favourite family brands – Uncle Ben’s and Dolmio.”

The newly opened state-of-the-art office facilities include a ‘living green roof’, gymnasium and canteen aimed at helping boost employee engagement and wellbeing at work. The space has been designed to attain the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold certification. Innovative solutions have been incorporated into the facility’s design and construction to reduce energy and water use and to manage waste as sustainably as possible.