International food group Princes Limited, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Coporation (Japan), employs 7,000 staff globally, including 2,500 in the UK.

Long Sutton in Lincolnshire is the firm's largest UK production site, manufacturing a range of canned products including peas, pulses, baked beans, fruit and canned ready meals. It is one of the largest employers in the area and its operations support hundreds of regional jobs in businesses and industries that provide raw materials and services. 

Princes has recently invested £80m in the site, with a new pea processing plant, raw material warehouse, ingredients processing kitchen and high-speed canning line at the facility, making it the company's biggest ever capital investment. The new canning line and warehouse will see a high level of automation with 6-axis and 2-axis robot technology while the site's existing Manufacting Execution System will also see upgrades to software accommodating the new investments. Barry McDonnell, Group Operations Director at Princes, said:

"This is a very significant investment for us and is a major commitment to our UK manufacturing and providing long-term, high-quality employment opportunities in the area. Our development programme includes state of the art automation, better energy efficiency, green energy generation, and increased capability and capacity."