Lochlain Feeley has been given the newly created role of bakery md for the UK manufacturer, which processes foods ranging from poultry meat to biscuits.
Before joining Greencore, Feeley was md of chilled foods firm Uniq, shifting over when Greencore bought it two years ago. He has worked in food industry management for the past 30 years, according to 2 Sisters, and will be based at the firm’s Gunstones bakery in Dronfield, Derbyshire.
Having already left Greencore, Feeley had been working as a consultant most recently.
Meanwhile, Veepul Patel, previously bakery md, has relinquished that role, but retained his responsibilities as food-to-go md at the business.
2 Sisters makes baked goods and chilled foods at the Dronfield site. The facility has recruited hundreds of new workers in the past year, driven by high demand from supermarkets for lines such as sushi and flatbreads, and employs more than 1,400 people.
Senior appointments
Feeley’s arrival at the company is the latest in a string of senior appointments, following the recent recruitment of April Preston as innovation director.
2 Sisters announced earlier this year that it would be pumping cash into sites in the north of England and Scotland, including Carlisle and Cambuslang.
Commenting on his decision to join the business, Feeley hinted it would precede further investment in the bakery division.
‘Opportunities’
“We are in a very challenging sector, there’s no doubt about it but the opportunities are still there,” he said. “What’s great about 2 Sisters is the scale of ambition and ability to adapt quickly and respond to change and opportunities.
“There’s a willingness to invest both in terms of capital and people wherever potential exists. 2 Sisters has already announced major investment at several sites this year and I expect the bakery team will be taking advantage of this appetite for investment very soon, so watch this space.”
The Gunstones family started in business in 1862 and opened their first bakery in Sheffield in 1925. They built the Dronfield site, which makes products such as bread rolls, hot cross buns, iced buns and garlic bread, in 1950.