A Lincolnshire agrifood business has received a grant of £409,000 from the Rural Development Programme for England to pay for new technology to help sort Brussels sprouts.
A Lincolnshire agrifood business is the first to be awarded a grant of just over £409,000 through the latest round of Growth Programme funding from the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE).
Family horticultural business TH Clements and Son Ltd is one of the largest brassica growers and packers in the UK, employing over 220 people.
It produces, packs and distributes Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli for national retail and the food sector.
The RDPE Growth Programme grant will meet 40% of the cost of a new Brussels sprout grading line with optical grading technologies, which will be installed in the firm's pack house at West End, Benington, near Boston.
The introduction of the new technology will enable the business to increase the volume of sprouts graded per hour by 100%, while improving accuracy and consistency of grading and maintaining quality of product.
As a result the business will reduce its unit grading cost and increase sales of sprouts. The project will create 12 new full-time jobs in the pack house within the first year and a further five jobs in 2019.
The £409,000 grant to T H Clements was awarded by the Rural Payments Agency on behalf of Defra, working with the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership.
This is the first grant awarded following the announcement of £120 million of funding for projects to support the growth of rural businesses in January 2017.
The RDPE Growth Programme supports projects that invest in building businesses, creating new jobs and growing the economy in rural areas.
