Welsh bakery Jones Village Bakery is investing USD 20 m in a new production line at its 140,000 sq ft Wrexham facility. The production increase will also create 100 new jobs, foodbusinessafrica reports. The custom-made line is 85 m long, with most of the equipment coming from a Dutch supplier. The line is expected to be operational in July.

The news outlet quotes the company’s project director, Christien Jones: “Essentially, this is a craft bakery line on a larger scale so we still have the influence of the craft master baker but we have taken away the mundane jobs like the lifting and the carrying.” He explained the value in automating production with this line: “The magic is provided by the skill of our staff. We add value to our products by using hand work by our trained team but there’s no skill in lifting a bakery tray. That’s what we’re trying to take away so it’s more appealing to attract staff going forward.”
The company will train its staff to work with the new machines at its Baking Academy. The company is recruiting, with plans to hire 50 people now, and 50 more next year for a second shift, the report details.
The bakery was destroyed by a fire in September 2019 and it has since been rebuilt “bigger and better”, as Robin Jones, the company’s managing director, said at the time. He also announced plans to replace the state-of-the-art production facility on Wrexham Industrial Estate following the blaze.

Photo: Jones Village Bakery Facebook