A Southland meat works is about to get a 3.2 million dollar upgrade by the Alliance Group

The meat processor and exporter is improving safety features in the engine room of its Lorneville plant, near Invercargill, so the refrigeration system can be controlled remotely.

The second engine room provides refrigeration for four cold stores, blast freezers and chillers at the plant, which in the peak season employs about two thousand people.

Chief executive David Surveyor says the investment shows the company's commitment to the region as Southland's largest employer.

Alliance is also sinking four million dollars into a redesign of its venison processing plant at Lorneville so it can process beef.