Stowey will also be responsible for Unibake’s end-to-end supply chain, two factories, technical, procurement and capital investment programmes.
Prior to joining Unibake, Stowey managed large-scale new factory build projects for Noble Foods and Dairy Crest.
He has seven years’ bakery experience in site general management positions with Northern Foods, followed by meals and sandwich manufacturing experience as operations director at Buckingham Foods and Premier Foods across eight years.
‘Vision for the future’
Commenting on his appointment, Stowey said: “I was attracted to Lantmännen Unibake UK’s vision for the future and the one thing that has struck me since starting is the people and the culture. They are the backbone of the company and I want to spend this year focusing on our factory and, ultimately, the things we are measured by.
To achieve this goal, Stowey said the company would be making its senior team more visible and accessible in the bakery and giving the teams a more “defined drumbeat” to operate to, making sure everyone works together as one cohesive and united team.
“I am also particularly excited about our capital investment into our burger bun and bread lines, which will help expand capacity to meet customer demand and drive greater efficiency,” he added.
‘Expand capacity’
Lantmännen Unibake UK supplies bakery products to retailers, wholesalers and the foodservice industry. Its parent company, Lantmännen Unibake, is one of the largest manufacturers of frozen bakery products in northern Europe, with 23 bakeries in 18 countries.
In the UK, the company has two bakeries – at Milton Keynes and Bedford – producing fast food and speciality breads and Danish pastries respectively.
Meanwhile, there have been a number of new hires in the food and drink industry over the past month, including appointments at Tate & Lyle and Ornua.