Corby depot expands workforce after winning bread distribution contract

Roberts Bakery's Mark Owen (left), with Ian Firth from Bibby Distribution.

Run by logistics giant Bibby Distribution, the depot on Bangrave Road will to service family bread company Roberts Bakery.

Additional pickers, a warehouse supervisor and four new drivers will help manage warehousing and customer delivery requirements around Northamptonshire and beyond for the Cheshire-based bread company.

Ian Firth, divisional development manager at Bibby Distribution, says: “By leveraging the scope and capacity of our considerable national network, we’re able to help support Roberts Bakery in its ambitious growth plans and create new employment opportunities in Corby.”

Fresh daily baked goods - some 20,000 a week – come into the site from Roberts Bakery plants in Northwich, Cheshire and Ilkeston in Derbyshire and are then picked, packed and distributed on four routes to 108 supermarket and convenience store customers in Northamptonshire as well as Leicester, Coventry and along the M1 corridor.

The Corby site already works with a number of leading names in the food and drink industry including Hipp, Mizkan and Morrisons and has a proven track record.

Frank Roberts and Sons Ltd logistics director, Mark Owen, said that the Corby depot had benefitted from an outstanding 12-month trial at Bibby Distribution’s Scunthorpe operation and the logistics provider had been appointed as a key national partner in realising growth targets efficiently across the UK.

He said: “By working with experienced logistics partners we can focus on our core strengths, which are baking high quality bakery products and making deliveries from our main site in Northwich.

“The model is also scalable which could help provide national distribution capability in the future.

“As far as food miles efficiency is concerned the partnership is already proving its worth.

“We have already saved over 370km a day by using their Corby base to reach our customers.”

Mike Roberts, deputy chairman of Frank Roberts and Sons Ltd, said: “We approached Bibby Distribution because as well as having a national supply chain capability, like us, they are a long-established independently-owned business that retain family values of service and quality at their core.

“We are looking forward to working with them in Corby on the next phase of our expansion plans.”