Minister calls in

23 January 2015

Liz Truss MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, called in to see Christmas pudding maker, Matthew Walker during a visit to the East Midlands on 22nd January 2015.

LtoR: Jeremy Threadgold (Mathew Walker),Liz Truss MP & Nigel Mills MPDuring her tour of the factory in Heanor, Derbyshire, Ms Truss saw the production of some of the millions of puddings that the company makes every year. And of course she had chance to taste a few too.

The visit was organised by Amber Valley MP, Nigel Mills.  Matthew Walker, part of the 2 Sisters Food Group, is located in Mr Mills’ constituency.

Liz Truss said: "I had a very warm welcome at Matthew Walker and it was a pleasure meeting the team and seeing their whole operation.

"Britain is now in a global economic race which provides some exciting opportunities for iconic British producers to tap into emerging markets.

"This includes historic companies like Matthew Walker who have a great story to tell as well as a fantastic product to market both at home and overseas."

Jeremy Threadgold, general manager for Matthew Walker said: “We’re proud of what we do; we make the best puddings in the world and we export them around the world too. It was great to welcome Ms Truss and to give her a tour and a taste of the best of British.”

Nigel Mills added: “Matthew Walker is a fantastic local producer and employer, employing between 180 and 330 people throughout the year. I was delighted to invite the Secretary of State to tour the factory and meet with the team to discuss how UK businesses can be supported in the export market. Businesses like Matthew Walker are absolutely vital to the local and UK wide economic recovery. I am proud to have Matthew Walker in my constituency.”

Every year Matthew Walker makes 25 million puddings using a mind boggling list of ingredients including:

  • 1.3m litres of alcohol – enough to half fill an Olympic sized swimming pool
  • 2,800 tonnes of vines fruits – the weight of 560 adult African elephants
  • 2,555 miles of film wrapper – enough to stretch from Matthew Walker factory to the centre of Baghdad!

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