logo-loader

Unilever to close Colman's Mustard factory in Norwich after 160 years

Published: 19:45 05 Jan 2018 AEDT

Unilever
The closure of the factory will affect 113 jobs

Unilever plc (LON:ULVR) is to close the factory that has been making Colman’s Mustard in Norwich since 1858.

The Carrow Works site will shut by the end of 2019, resulting in local job losses. The factory employs 113 people of whom 40 will transfer to a separate Unilever site in Burton.

READ: Unilever to sell margarine and spreads business to private equity firm KKR

Unilever will create 25 jobs at a new mustard milling and mint processing plant near Norwich.

Manufacturing of most other products will move to Burton-upon-Trent, the home of Marmite and Bovril. The packing of dry sauces will move to an existing factory in Germany.

Britvic's closure of Norwich site

The decision to close Carrow Works comes after soft-drinks maker Britvic Plc (LON:BVIC) said it would shut the Robinson's squash factory on the site shared with the Colman's plant in Norwich.

Unilever said Britvic’s move had “serious applications” implications for the business as their operations were “uniquely intertwined” with shared infrastructure.

It prompted a review by Unilever, leading to its decision to shut Carrow Works.

“We will protect the historic link between Colman's and Norwich by retaining the production and packing of Colman's mustard powder, the historic mustard milling process, and mint processing in a new state-of-the-art facility in the Norwich area, created through a new long-term partnership with a consortium of local farmers, backed by significant investment from Unilever,” the company said in a statement.

"We will also continue to source our mint and mustard locally as we have for generations."

Unite to fight compulsory redundancies

Trade union Unite urged the company to reconsider its decision and vowed to fight compulsory redundancies.

Unite national officer Rhys McCarthy said it was a “devastating day” for Norwich.

"Our aim during the consultation period will be to retain as many skilled jobs as possible within Unilever and that there should be no compulsory redundancies."

Rebecca Long-Bailey MP, Labour’s shadow business secretary, said the government had not done enough to fight the closure of the site, adding that it was a "blow not only to the workers at Colman's and their families but to the town and region more generally". 

A government spokesperson said: "The government is disappointed Unilever has decided to close its Norwich plant, though we welcome Unilever's commitment to mustard milling and mint production in Norwich."

Australian Strategic Materials signs US$600 million LoI

Rowena Smith, CEO and managing director of Australian Strategic Materials Ltd (ASX:ASM, OTC:ASMMF), joins Jonathan Jackson in the Proactive studio to discuss the company’ s Dubbo Project, in Central West New South Wales. This project aims to extract and process critical minerals and rare earth...

12 hours, 23 minutes ago