Up to 50 jobs will be created when food group Symington’s opens a noodle factory in Leeds later this year.
The factory in Hunslet, will take on production work which had previously been carried out in two Chinese factories.
Symington’s has also bought a gravy production factory, in Goldthorpe, South Yorkshire, which employs 20 staff.
In Hunslet, Symington’s has taken a long term lease on Sprint 70, Old Run Road, which is a 70,000 sq ft factory. A spokesman for Symington’s said that the company had “in-sourced” the packing of noodle pots into Leeds from China in 2008.
The spokesman added: “Now - for the first time - the base production of noodles will be taking place in Leeds, instead of China.
“We decided to do this because we knew that we could supply retailers more quickly if we produced noodles in Leeds.
“Formerly the noodles were produced at two sites in China: one in Guangzhou province, inland from Hong Kong, and one in Hangzhou, inland from Shanghai.”
Earlier this year, David Salkeld, the chief executive of Symington’s, reversed a decision to establish the noodle factory in the Leeds Enterprise Zone, because he claimed the development process was too cumbersome, slow and expensive.
Initially, the Hunslet factory, which is outside the Leeds Enterprise Zone, will employ between 40 and 50 staff when it opens in August, and this figure is expected to grow.
Altogether, Symington’s has 800 employees in Leeds and Bradford, after adding 120 staff last year. The spokesman added: “We envisage there could be additional production lines there (in Hunslet) in due course.”
The site in Hunslet has been taken on a long term lease. It is close to Symington’s other site in Beeston, which makes it easier to share facilities and resources.
Paul Fox, of Fox Lloyd Jones. who advised Symington’s, said yesterday: “Sprint 70 has been on our radar for many years.
“We have been tracking its availability, and as soon as the current occupier confirmed their exit, it was important for Symington’s to secure the property for its planned growth.
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