2 minute read - 17th July 2023
Edible Oils continues investment programme at UK sites
Edible Oils Limited (EOL) has completed a further investment programme at its Erith and Belvedere sites in south-east London, involving a major upgrade of the company’s employee welfare facilities and the installation of four new oil tanks.
EOL is a 50/50 joint venture between Princes and Archer Daniels Midland and is the UK’s largest producer of packaged oils for the retail sector, supplying over 50% of the UK’s customer own brand and branded seed oil volume. It is one of the largest employers in the London borough of Bexley.
The refurbishment of employee facilities at EOL’s Erith site includes construction of new changing and bathroom facilities, as well as first aid and multi-faith spaces to meet the needs of an expanding and increasingly diverse workforce. The existing office space and canteen have also been extended and redecorated.
Edible Oils has completed its latest investments at its Erith and Belvedere sites / Picture: EOL
At the nearby Belvedere site, four new 60,000 litre oil tanks have been installed and commissioned, significantly increasing EOL’s tank farm capacity. This additional on-site storage capacity has enhanced flexibility, which will enable EOL to respond quickly to evolving supply and demand factors, and enter categories with new products, such as bespoke blends. It will also improve efficiencies and reduce third-party storage costs.
The project quickly follows the completion of a £24m investment programme at EOL’s Erith site in June 2022, which increased overall production capacity by around 50%.
Mark Church, managing director at Edible Oils, said: “We’re very pleased to have completed another important investment programme at EOL, which builds on the major transformation project we successfully concluded last year. The new facilities will help to promote employee wellbeing as our teams grow, while the expansion of our tank farm will deliver increased flexibility during what continues to be a turbulent time for the edible oils market. By enhancing our bulk storage capacity on-site, we can continue to meet customer and consumer needs as they evolve.”
The Erith site, which supplies over 100 million litres of oil each year, bottles Crisp ‘n’ Dry, Flora and Mazola and also packs rapeseed, sunflower and corn oils for customer own brands. It forms the hub of EOL’s cooking oil production and is fully integrated with an adjacent refinery complex – one of the largest seed oil crushing and refining establishments in Europe.
EOL’s Belvedere site is the UK’s largest producer of olive and speciality oils, and also has the capability to pack balsamic vinegars and soy sauce.