New KP Snacks factory to make ‘two tonnes of crisps per hour’

KP Snacks has asked for planning permission to build the proposed warehouse at its factory on Cowpen Lane Industrial Estate, its largest manufacturing site which employs about 800 people.

The company wants a new small industrial building to house a heat exchanger to serve the factory, demolish two small disused outbuildings to make way for it and change road markings to improve access.

“The proposed heat exchanger is a replacement for the existing equipment and represents a more modern and efficient solution for the site,” says a design and access statement from Howarth Litchfield Architects.

“Its primary purpose is to provide the thermal energy required to heat the cooking oil used in the crisp-frying process, supporting production at a rate of approximately two tonnes of finished product per hour.”

The proposed building on Macklin Avenue would cover about 176sqm with two 14m-high ventilation stacks. It is described by the developer as “a natural expansive progression on the wider factory site” making the production process more sustainable.

The statement continues: “The new equipment will support the continued operation of the Teesside site by providing a reliable and controlled source of heat for the frying process.

Replacing the existing equipment with a modern system will help maintain production efficiency, improve process control and support the long-term reliability of the manufacturing operation.

“The investment will help protect existing manufacturing capacity, support business continuity and ensure the site has suitable equipment to meet its ongoing production requirements.

The project is therefore primarily a replacement and modernisation of essential production infrastructure rather than an expansion of the site’s manufacturing capacity.

“We understand that the erection of the new warehouse and minor external works associated will have negligible impact on the local area.”