Bumble Hole Foods' £6.4M expansion to create 18 jobs

30-Oct-2013 - Last updated on 30-Oct-2013 at 15:27 GMT

The expansion will help the egg products manufacturer to increase its output

Bumble Hole Foods is investing £6.4M in expanding its Bromsgrove factory, creating 18 new jobs.

Rob Elliot, operations manager at the egg products manufacturer, told FoodManufacture.co.uk that the expansion would help the family business achieve its five-year-plan of increasing capacity, boost output and improve training and innovation facilities.

“Three years’ ago capacity was at 120t [of egg products] a week, we are at 250t at the moment. This expansion will help us get to 700t a week by 2018.”

The expansion work, which started in April, is expected to take 40 weeks and has involved investment in equipment to grow the business.

This includes an egg separator, so that Bumble Hole can separate egg whites from egg yolks. Elliot said this would help the business, which currently only supplies whole eggs, to enter new markets.

“In a bid to be a more complete business we will be buying a separator,” he added. “This will enable us to separate yolk from white and sell them to customers separately. Or then mix them together for customers that want a mixed egg.”

New product development and innovation centre

Elliot said the expansion would also include a new product development and innovation centre, so that Bumble Hole can invite its customers on to site to work together on products – enhancing collaboration with them.

The firm currently employs 84 staff, including a newly appointed human resources manager, and aims to take on a further 18, after the expansion is complete.

Elliot said the expansion would provide the firm with more room to develop and train its people.

“Staff are the most important asset in the business,” he claimed. “We have installed a CUTS [continuous and unlimited training support] training regime, which is training all year round, both initial training and refresher training.”

Elliot claimed that this method of continuous training had reduced customer complaints by 66%, reduced accidents by 62%, raised moral and helped increase turnover by 70%.

He added that this training regime had helped the firm achieve a 100% customer audit and accreditation pass rate over the past three years, and that the expansion would help it cement its British Retail Consortium (BRC) A grade and its accreditation with Marks & Spencer.

‘Incredibly important’

Elliot said it was “incredibly important” that food and drink manufacturers have training partnerships with colleges and universities, but encouraged them not to simply form relationships with the nearest institution.

Bumble Hole has a partnership with Grimsby Institute of Further and Higher Education to roll out diplomas, apprenticeships, scholarships and City and Guilds training courses.

Elliot said the firm chose Grimsby, instead of a closer institute, because it was flexible and helped design a course tailored to the specific needs of the business.

“We have designed course content to cover skills and exposure, fundamental to our business key performance indicators and to look at requirements over the length of our five-year business plan. Degrees will eventually form part and parcel of our training and development package.”

The expansion will also include a new access road to ease transport in and out of the site, a fully operational weigh bridge, security gate and up to date changing facilities.