A move to a new hi-tech site with more space for R&D would “sustain and secure” the future of Muñoz Group subsidiaries MM (UK) and MM Flowers.
The plans are still in the development stage, with Muñoz Group first needing to get planning permission from Huntingdonshire District Council before it purchases the land it requires for the development.
The proposed relocation to the site on an old military airfield at Alconbury Weald in Cambridgeshire may also see the closure of the firms’ operations at their present office in nearby Chatteris “in their entirety”.
As for where this would leave current employees based there, Andrew West, head of human resources at MM (UK) and MM Flowers, told FPJ: “We hope to be able to offer suitable alternative roles to as many of our Chatteris staff as possible, and we have chosen the new location because it should be a commutable distance – only 20 minutes from the current location – to travel for the majority of our current employees.”
Describing the plans in more detail, West said: “The new facility is being designed around our future plans, and incorporates the latest processes and techniques. It has also been designed around our people and the way we work to create a great working environment.
“In order to grow we need to retain the team that have got us to where we are, and also attract the best and brightest talent, and we believe the new site will enhance our ability to do this. The decision to relocate and design a bespoke solution has also been driven by a requirement to provide our customers with transparent supply chain solutions that step change quality for the consumer.”
He also cited the benefits the business will get from the mooted move in terms of the new site providing greater opportunity for economies of scale, and more assurances on “cold chain integrity”.
However, he dismissed local media reports that the new facility – which it is working towards getting with property development firm Urban and Civic, which is in charge of developing the site in question – will create 500 new jobs as erroneous.
West said the Chatteris base does not give the business the space and flexibility it needs to deliver its strategic plans for the future, and noted that Alconbury Weald is closer to the main transport arteries of the A14 and A1(M).
The Tesco-dedicated fruit supplier AMT Fruit in Newmarket would not be affected by the move, which West hopes to have completed by the end of summer 2016
