Zeneca puts money into Quorn

19 April 1993 00:00  [Source: ICB]

ZENECA IS to invest £26.Sm ($40.3m) in a new manufacturing facility for its Quorn meat substitute, made and sold by Marlow Foods - a 100%-owned subsidiary.

The new investment will allow a second fermenter to be built at Belasis, Cleveland, UK, raising production to 14 000 tonne/year by 1995. Once the new facility is complete, product from the first fermenter will be dedicated to the UK market. That from the second will be used to meet demand on the continent. Harvesting capability at nearby Stokesley will be expanded to process product from both fermenters.

Zeneca says the investment was sanctioned following market research and pilot trials in Europe. Positive customer response to market testing in Belgium led the retailer Delhaize to make Quorn nationally available within a month of the first pilot launch. Marlow Foods intends to extend availability in Germany and the Netherlands later this year. The investment could also allow Quorn to be launched in France and Italy.

Marlow Foods announced a £37m expansion to raise Quorn production from 1200 to 7000 tonne/year in late 1991 (ECN 11 November 1991). The low-fat product, launched in 1985, is available as both the fresh ingredient and, in the UK, in ready-made meals and pies.

* Celltech Biologics has unveiled plans to build a biotechnology manufacturing facility at the Pease International Tradeport in New Hampshire, US. As part of the state's plan to redevelop the former US Air Force base, the Pease Development Authority is providing Celltech with $30m to finance the construction and equipping of the facility. Celltech Biologics will contribute $2m to the PDA to prepare the site and the facility is expected to provide 100 jobs when it is completed in mid-1995.

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