A year after establishing its first base in North Wales, cheese producer Joseph Heler has expanded its business and created over 200 new job opportunities.
A third-generation family business, Joseph Heler acquired Minffordd-based Futura Foods Wales in August 2022. Now re-named Heler Foods Packing, the facility near Porthmadog is BRC AA accredited and Red Tractor certified and specialises in the cutting, blending and packing multiple cheese formats.
Joseph Heler’s Managing Director, George Heler, said,
“When we embarked on our journey at Minffordd, we knew it was a fantastic site with huge potential which offered our customer base increased capability and capacity across all cheese formats.
“Over the past 12 months, we’ve proudly generated 150 new job opportunities fuelling growth and empowerment within the community, and with our expanding business, there are now an additional 60 more positions ready to be filled.
“Progress hasn’t always been linear, and we’ve certainly faced our share of challenges, but the road ahead looks very exciting. A heartfelt thank you goes out to our amazing team, whose dedication and hard work have been instrumental in making this achievement a reality.”
The company was founded by Joseph Heler in 1957. However, cheese-making in the Heler family goes back over a century to Joseph’s grandmother, who started the tradition by making a whole Cheshire cheese every day at the family’s farm near Nantwich.
Now run by Joseph’s son Mike, and grandson George, the award-winning company is the North of England’s largest independent regional cheese producer.
Along with the flagship Joseph Heler brand, the company’s portfolio includes The Cheshire Cheese Company range of contemporary waxed cheese truckles and accompaniments. Also, Eatlean – the UK’s first high protein, low calorie, 3% fat cheese – which was launched in 2016.
