Kellanova has installed the UK’s largest weathervane at its cereal factory in Wrexham, North Wales, featuring the nation’s best-loved breakfast mascot – Cornelius the Cockerel.
Cornelius, who has been a familiar face on Kellogg’s Corn Flakes boxes since 1958, was earlier this year transformed into a 21ft-tall weathervane. Now, he has been installed at Kellanova’s Wrexham factory, standing proudly on site as a symbol of the company’s long-term commitment to the region.
Situated at the factory’s reception entrance, his trademark look has been constructed from steel with the body hand-carved and painted using a range of materials by a team of expert sculptures and engineers.
The fully functional weathervane can move and face the direction of the wind and follows a long held British tradition of vanes being used to predict weather patterns.
The unveiling follows a £75m investment in the factory, announced last October, which will see an additional 130 jobs being created and cereal production more than double to around 1.5 million boxes a day – establishing it as the largest cereal manufacturing site in Europe.
As well as increasing capacity, two new advanced production lines will enhance the sustainability of cereal manufacturing by enabling use of artificial intelligence and machine learning technology to lower energy consumption during the production process.
Mike Edge, Kellanova Wrexham plant director, said: “Our Wrexham site is a vital part of Kellanova’s UK operations, and this year marks an exciting new chapter as we expand production and invest in innovation in Wales.
“The installation of our Cornelius weathervane is a fitting way to celebrate both the heritage of our iconic brands and the future growth of our business. This investment demonstrates our continued commitment to supporting local jobs, developing new products, and ensuring Wrexham remains at the heart of our UK operation.”
