The new line, which took 14 months to install, has doubled the company’s roll-making capacity and is set to create 60 new jobs by next summer.
It’s part of a total investment package of £47 million which also includes plans to convert and extend a storage facility that was built on the nearby site of the company’s bakery that was destroyed by a fire in 2019.
The company was acquired by Menissez Bakery Group for an undisclosed sum in June 2024.
CEO Simon Thorpe said: “The new roll production line is a fantastic investment that will enable us to satisfy the growing appetite for our products. It’s the same old story. If you make fantastic products and provide excellent customer service, it will invariably create demand.
“I am very proud of the team who have worked like trojans to build this new production line two days in front of a tight schedule which was a full 14 months long. They have done an absolutely cracking job.
“The equipment is the very best, most modern that’s available on the market and has come from the Netherlands.”
The project was masterminded by group head of engineering Kris Green, who said: “The new roll line has significantly increased our capacity, utilising the skills of craft bakers without them having to do any of the heavy manual tasks.
“It’s advanced, highly sophisticated equipment that mimics what you do in a craft bakery.
He added: “As we move into next summer, when the demand increases again we’ll be looking at a total of 60 jobs.”
Group head of operations Andy Beckett added: “We’re really going places and I feel I am now part of something very special and the new production line enables us to serve the customer in different ways.
“The people are what makes the business. Investing in them, training them and encouraging them is what I’m all about as a manager.”
