Magherafelt family bakery moves to new premises following a £1.5 million investment

Following a £1.5 million investment, their operations have recently transferred to a state-of-the-art ultra modern factory at Creagh Business Park, Toomebridge.

The new 12,000 square foot facility is ideally located allowing the well-known, multi-generational brand to stay close to its Mid Ulster origins. The premises also improves logistics enabling quick and efficient daily wholesale deliveries to an increasing range of supermarkets across Northern Ireland.

The expansion marks an exciting new chapter for the baking brothers whose name has been synonymous with high quality home baked bread, cakes and pastries for three generations.

Building upon the legacy established in 1968 by their parents Joe and the three McErlain brothers, Master Bakers John and Seamus and Sales Manager Paul, alongside John’s son Peter, have kept it in the family.

They are also future proofing McErlain’s Bakery with a new expansion for growth.

Positive feedback from customers throughout the local community and an increased demand from shop owners has led to an expanded supply of baked goods to 125 supermarkets.

In step with increased productivity in the last 12 months, McErlain’s Bakery have recruited 12 new staff members with further plans to hire an additional 10 employees by July 2021.

Renowned for family favourites like the artisan wheaten loaves, using a special flour mix passed down from their parents, and hand chaffed soda farls crafted using the traditional method, the high spec facilities allow McErlain’s bakery to retain their daily production of traditional home bakery methods whilst creating room for exciting new products.

Throughout the generations and accompanying transformations, the brothers insist that two things remain unchanged: McErlain’s reputation for quality and taste.

John McErlain, who heads up innovation and product development, has one eye firmly on the future and is looking forward to an exciting new chapter in the McErlain’s Bakery history.

He explained: “By marrying the same traditional handcrafted techniques for which we are well known with new and exciting recipes and collaborations we hope to expand our customer base.

“With an increase in production capacity and added investment this is an exciting new chapter for McErlain’s Bakery.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper whenever you are able to do so.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper when you can safely.

You can also enjoy unlimited access to the best news from across Northern Ireland and the UK by subscribing to newsletter.co.uk

With a digital subscription, you can read more than five articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Thank you