A THRIVING company is set to be allowed to extend its factory’s operational hours to 24/7 to help it continue to grow its business.

Residents are opposing the expansion, but have been assured that their fears of extra lorry traffic are groundless.

Indo European Foods Ltd wants to have all-night working at its 12,000-plus sq m Kohinoor House premises in Langer Road, Felixstowe – increasing its hours from 6am to 10pm seven days a week to 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Over the past two years the company has seen a year-on-year growth of 52 per cent and 32 per cent in its business, and now supplies rice and other products to a number of major wholesalers in the UK.

It feels the current hours do not allow for sufficient production to meet increasing sales demand.

Given the growth agenda and the current economic climate, and its strategy to encourage diversification of Felixstowe’s economy to offer new employment opportunities, Suffolk Coastal planners are recommending councillors give the proposal for the resort’s biggest factory their approval when they meet to discuss the application on Thursday .

Five objections have been made by people living near the site – worried about an increase in traffic both from lorries and cars, noise from loading and unloading, and from staff coming and going.

However, council officers say there will be no extra visits from lorries during the night, no outside working, and the company will be instructing staff to park at the Summit Business Park, further along Langer Road, to limit noise which may cause a disturbance for neighbours.