Bakery giant has ambitions to rise in size

Bakery giant Greggs has embarked on ambitious expansion plans, having completed a £3M extension to its Treforest bakery in Wales, giving it the capacity to supply up to 200 shops.

The firm plans to take the number of its outlets from 118 to 135 by 2010. The footprint of its existing bakery at Treforest has doubled with an extra 1,300 sqm of space. That is being used to house a purpose-built facility for the delivery, storage and despatch of both chilled and frozen products, and an improved loading bay for Greggs’ 23 delivery vehicles.

The drivers’ changing facilities and rest rooms have also been built as part of the extension, plus a warm room facility for staff who work in the -25°C freezer room.

“The new extension to the bakery and yard has made a huge difference,” said sales manager Russell Gower. “It has speeded up processes and leaves fewer opportunities for error in our dispatch process.”

He said that the new loading bay allowed vehicle tails to attach to the dock, making vehicle loading a simple walk-on process that took half the time previously required.

The Welsh Assembly gave Greggs a grant towards the expansion with the condition that it created more jobs in Wales.

“With dozens of shops opening across Wales and the south-west and new products being introduced our existing bakery simply could not cope with the increased demands,” said Gower. “But this is only stage one of our expansion plans. By the time we have opened the 135 shops, we will have to either expand the factory again or open a second bakery nearby.”

The Treforest bakery currently supplies 118 shops across Wales and the south-west, with a further eight opening this year. It makes 200,000 doughnuts a week, 100,000 cream cakes and 180,000 bread items.