Kenafric Group has recalled 100 Britania Foods Limited employees who had been put on temporary redundancy two years ago.
Kenafric made this move after acquiring the distressed Britania Foods limited in a deal estimated at Sh1 billion.
Moreover, Kenafric reopened the doors to the Britania plant on Wednesday, October 5, after an acquisition deal that has seen it team up with Indian food giant Britannia Industries.
The food and beverage company has reinstated 100 of the 300 workers who had been sent home from the firm’s Industrial Area factory in 2020.
Furthermore, the firm says revival of the factory will see it engage more than 400 employees in two years’ time. Thence, surpassing the number previously employed by Britania before its problems set in.
Additionally, Kenafric chief executive officer Keval Shah stated that the firm had spent two months after the takeover renovating the factory and acquiring the necessary machinery in preparation for the resumption of operations.
“We took over the factory two months ago. We spent some time doing renovations and getting the machines back to full operating capacity. We expect to start production within the next two days,” Mr Shah noted.
Nevertheless, Kenafric and Britannia Industries are set to use up to $5 million (Sh600 million) into the new acquisition as working capital in the course operations on top of the Sh1 billion that they spent in the acquisition deal.
Likewise, the first batch of products under the new brand name Britannia is anticipated to hit the market by the end of next week.
Meanwhile the revamped machinery has the capacity to manufacture 1,200 tonnes of biscuits per month. This is a six-fold jump from the 200 tonnes that was being produced before the closure.
Nonetheless, Britania Foods limited went under following several protracted business woes that saw it declared bankrupt.
Moreover, the company was then placed under administration for defaulting on loans worth more than Sh1.3 billion provided by DTB Group and other creditors in August 2021.
