A fire-hit bakery firm will be back to full capacity less than eight months after a devastating blaze as development is underway on a new ‘super-bakery’.
Village Bakery saw a bakery, academy, head office and product development kitchen on Wrexham Industrial Estate hit by the fire.
But the company vowed to bounce back and as soon as ensuring all the staff were safe they set about ramping up production at its other three sites.
Within weeks they will have restored 100 per cent of its lost production.
This comes as construction starts on a new 140,000 sq ft facility which will be four times the size of the bakery it’s replacing.
The Village Bakery’s turnover is now already higher than it was before the fire which the family described as the “darkest day” in the company’s history since Alan Jones and his father, Harry, bought the business in 1964.
The new super bakery is due to be up and running in just over 12 months and will give the company the capacity to “grow to the next level”.
Alan Jones paid tribute to the “fantastic staff” who had played a vital role in their comeback.
He said: “The staff are tremendous and the loyalty they have shown is just wonderful and I am proud of the fact that we have not made anybody redundant.
“The fire was a dreadful, devastating experience for all of us but at no point did we feel sorry for ourselves and we vowed to bounce back stronger than ever.
“The fact that we are a tightknit, family operation meant we were able to make quick decisions and turn a disaster into an opportunity.
“The new bakery will be bigger, better and more modern and will lay the foundation for future growth and success.”
Son Christien Jones, the projects director, is playing a key role in the rebirth of the Village Bakery.
He said: “I’ve never been so busy.
“This is our ninth major project in my 30 year career and this is the biggest of the lot.
“The new bakery will be the most modern in Europe and we are buying the very best equipment that’s available, mainly from Holland, Italy, France and Germany.
“As well as having the best equipment, we already have the best team, allied to our skills as craft bakers – that in a nutshell is our recipe for success.
“Today has been a significant milestone with mum and dad cutting the first sod at the site of the new bakery in Ash Road.
“Mum also comes from a family of bakers so it’s part of our DNA.”
It was a sentiment echoed by brother Robin, the managing director, who described their parents as the “backbone of the business”.
He added: “Mum and dad have provided the sense of continuity that has sustained us and given us the strength to bounce back.
“I said on the day of the fire that we would not dwell on it or be daunted but to be in this position less than 200 days later is remarkable.”
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