A SELBY-based food company has won praise for its “outstanding productivity improvements” at an awards ceremony.

Greencore, which operates out of a 23-acre site at Barlby and employs 600 people, was honoured at the Yorkshire Productivity Awards at the Royal Armouries in Leeds.

The awards recognise improvements among manufacturing companies, and 250 representatives from businesses across the north of England attended the ceremony.

Alistair Gladstone, divisional direct or of Yorkshire Productivity, said the company had excelled in training and commitment to development, despite the difficult financial climate.

Greencore has this week announced its profits were hit by a failed merger with Northern Foods in January, reaching a pre-tax profit of £2.5 million, after the fight for the merger cost it 13.1 million euros.

Michael Evans, from Greencore, said the Barlby site was not the only company site rewarded, and that the honours reaffirmed its commitment to improvement.

He said: “Our Barlby site and our Kiverton site were both honoured at the awards, and we’re incredibly proud to have been honoured in this way. We encourage a continuous improvement environment across all our sites, so we’re particularly pleased to be acknowledged for that, but also for the support and training we put in place, even in a challenging financial environment.”