Local residents see advanced production facility at first hand

A special Open Day organised by Crown Pet Foods last Saturday has provided residents of Castle Cary and Ansford with the opportunity to see the company’s advanced £18m production facility at first hand. As well as guided tours of the kitchen and production lines, a hog roast and entertainment for children was provided and it proved to be an enjoyable and informative day for 400 local guests.

The event took place just a few weeks after the resumption of normal production at the facility, following a huge £1m investment in additional odour abatement technology to address concerns raised by some local residents earlier in the year. Stringent monitoring and testing of the new equipment with different product lines is ongoing, but results so far show the new system is fulfilling its objective.

On their guided tours, many of the visitors expressed surprise at the state-of-the-art equipment and complexity of the production facility. “We had always planned to have an Open Day for our neighbours and we’re delighted so many people accepted our invitation,” says Crown Pet Foods’ Managing Director, Francois Demauge. “We’re immensely proud of the quality standards in our pristine kitchen and production areas, and we are pleased that so many of our neighbours could see for themselves just how far we have gone to address earlier concerns about odour.

“Working closely with the Environment Agency we’re keeping a close eye on all emissions, so were able to identify and instantly address a few inevitable teething problems from this unprecedented level of odour control; the new system is working very well and we’re delighted with its performance.”

“We are absolutely determined to be a responsible and valued member of the local community at all times,” continues Mr Demauge. “As one of the area’s major employers it was very unfortunate that some concerns about odours took the shine off our first year in our new Somerset operational base. But we listened to those concerns and responded with the most emphatic solution possible, within a very challenging timeframe, to match our promise to the local community. We now look forward to the future, playing our part as a progressive and responsive employer in the area and continuing to develop our market-leading reputation in the production of high quality pet foods.”