Warburtons opens new £20m plant in Burnley

Warburtons has officially opened its new £20m plant in Burnley, which will produce its growing range of sandwich alternatives.

With capacity to bake up to 34,000 Wraps and Thins products per hour, the sheet and cut line has been built in response to increasing demand for new and innovative bakery products.

Warburtons were the first to bring Sandwich Thins to the market in 2011, and the baker has existing Wraps and Thins plants in Bristol and Bolton, producing nine million individual products each week. Burnley was chosen as the latest location for investment due to its supply chain links and suitability for build.

Brett Warburton, executive director at Warburtons, said: “After many months of hard work, we are proud to open the newest, most advanced, sheet and cut line in the country. We first opened the bakery in Burnley back in 1981, our third at the time, and this site has been integral to the business success over the last 30 years.

"The investment is the latest decision to invest in the future of the business and over the past decade, we have invested over £400m in building new bakeries, refurbishing others and upgrading our distribution networks, and this opening clearly demonstrates our commitment to lead the way in innovation in the bakery industry in order to meet changing consumer demand.

"It's created new jobs, we've largely used Burnley-based contractors and so that has helped the economy it brings prosperity to the area. We hope this investment keeps manufacturing at the heart of  Burnley and hopefully we've supported the local economy by the capital spend and will continue to support by employing local people in the town.

“As a family business, we are able to take decisions for the long term and this investment in Burnley reflects our commitment to the site, while also demonstrating our continued ambition for future growth.

"This is now our sixth plant on this site, it's a big bakery and its a vote of confidence and thanks to the people who work here."

Alan Beardsworth, manufacturing manager, added: "The expectation is that we will be moving on to a four-crew system in the near future and that means we will look to bring in 60 additional staff on top of our current 250-strong team. It doesn't only bring production jobs, but engineering jobs and management roles." Warburtons operates 12 bakeries and 14 depots across the country with the support of 4,500 people, producing more than two million products every day. It is the largest baker in the UK and was recently named the UK’s most-chosen FMCG brand by Kantar World Panel.