07.02.07
Duke of York visits Crantock bakery

Crantock Bakery, the award winning makers of Cornish pasties, welcomed His Royal Highness The Duke of York to the bakery.

The Duke spent over two hours at the bakery in his capacity as the UK's Special Representative for International Trade and Investment, and ate a pasty lunch before unveiling a plaque to mark the successful completion of a £1.1m investment programme.

The investment, which was part funded by the Objective One programme, has enabled the bakery to produce up to 120,000 pasties per day. The investment has helped to create 30 new jobs at the site while safeguarding a further 85.

His Royal Highness The Duke of York said: "It's been a pleasure to come to Cornwall and see a prime example of a successful Cornish business. I have been hugely impressed with the energy and enthusiasm of everyone and would like to congratulate all on what has been achieved. I wish Crantock continued success in developing new markets in the UK and abroad."

Nick Ringer, managing director of Crantock Bakery, said: "Today was a very special day for everyone at the bakery and marks the completion of a series of large investment programmes. We are continuing to spearhead the development of new markets in the UK and overseas, making the best of Cornish pasties more available now than ever before."

Beverley Chapman, Crantock's technical and production manager, said: "The Duke was very interested in hearing how we and in particular interested in how we combine new technologies with traditional ways of making pasties. He spent a lot of time talking to the staff who were hand crimping the pasties. It was a great day for everyone."

Of the £1.1million investment, £247,000 came from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF), administered by the Objective One programme.

Carleen Kelemen, the director of the Objective One partnership, said: "Objective One investment is being used to help businesses in the food supply chain to add value to primary produce, work smarter, increase profitability, maximise market growth and remain part of this region's valued assets. Crantock's expansion is a prime example of this with the investment being used to increase the linkage between local producers and food processors, increase quality of employment and strengthen local supply chains."

David Rodda, the Senior Agricultural Co-ordinator for Objective One, added: "The pasty industry today is worth an estimated £150 million a year to the local Cornish economy and this is increasing each year. Increasingly, people like to know where the food they eat comes from and like the idea of genuine regional food produced with ingredients sourced from the local area wherever possible. What is good about Crantock is that they have invested in both people and technology. The business is growing but the team remains committed to retaining traditional people skills, like crimping, in the product."

Overseas sales now account for 10% of Crantock's £9 million annual total turnover. The pasties, along with other baked products, are exported to six other countries across Europe (France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Gibraltar, and Ireland).

Crantock's pasties are made to a traditional Cornish recipe, with a secret seasoning recipe, and hand-crimped before being blast frozen. They are then delivered to retail outlets where they are freshly baked on the day – the only way to eat a pasty.

Crantock pasties are principally sold in the UK through the Cornish Bakehouse retail outlets and the Oggy Oggy franchise network as well as many other independent retailers in Devon and Cornwall.

In addition to the new extension, the bakery has recently invested in new state-of-the-art machinery including a new £100,000 sausage roll machine.

The machine, made in Italy to a Swiss design, is fully computerised and capable of producing over 10,000 sausage rolls an hour – at an average length of 19cm, that's over 1.1 miles of sausage rolls an hour.

Mike Johnson, managing director of Rondo, the firm that built the new sausage roll machine said: "The new machine replaced equipment that was nine years old. The investment in both the building and equipment at Crantock means that the company will be well placed to meet future challenges. It is good to see such forward thinking from one of Cornwall's leading food producers."

Matthew Hurry, operations director at Crantock Bakery, said: "Since Nick and I took over the business in 2002, we've invested in premises, technology and people. The business has expanded at a terrific rate, particularly into new markets overseas and across the UK. We believe the business is well placed to continue to grow."

For further information contact Stephen Gilbert at Deborah Clark and Associates Ltd on 07887 746569 or email stephen@dclark.co.uk.

The Objective One Programme for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly has invested in the Crantock Bakery business expansion project through the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF).

Editor's notes:

The purpose-built Crantock Bakery is a 25,000 square foot modern food manufacturing facility, producing 60,000 pasties a day. Pasties are all still HAND CRIMPED in the true Cornish fashion.

The bakery sources as much of its ingredients as possible from within Cornwall.

Immediate information about Crantock Bakery is available from the company website: www.crantockbakery.co.uk.

Clare Morgan
Media Relations Manager
Objective One Partnership Office
Castle House
Pydar Street
Truro TR1 2UD
Mobile: 07973 813647
Telephone: 01872 223439

cmorgan@cornwall.gov.uk

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