Jacksons has opened a new £40m bakery that can produce 10,000 loaves of sandwich bread an hour.

The Hull-based business, part of the William Jackson Food Group (WJFG), announced last December that work had started on the ‘state-of-the-art bakery’ in Corby that has been designed specifically to make bread for sandwich manufacturers and food service customers.

Fifty jobs have been created at the new 10-acre site, which will support Jacksons’ main bakery in Hull that produces around two million loaves a week, including the Jackson’s Yorkshire’s Champion brand.

Some staff have transferred from the Hull bakery, and two management development scheme graduates have decided to stay with the business to take up their first management positions at Corby.

“We’ve welcomed a great team of new people to work with us here in Corby and there’s been a real buzz around the factory, especially in the past few weeks as we have stepped up production,” said Victoria Kennedy, general manager of the Corby site.

The opening of the new factory follows “significant” investment in the Hull bakery in recent years, added William Jackson Food Group chief executive Norman Soutar.

“The new bakery, with its perfect location and skilled team, is part of our strategic plan to support this growth further,” he explained. “We take a long-term approach to the individual businesses in the group, allowing them time to grow and develop and we’re very much looking forward to seeing how the next chapter of the bakery’s life unfolds.”

The opening is the latest move in a transformational year for WJFG, which recently sold its Aunt Bessie’s brand to Nomad Foods for around £210m.

The business also this year acquired Lancashire-based foodservice ingredients business Wellocks, which employs around 470 people nationwide, sources and supplies ingredients for chefs, including fruit, vegetables, dairy, poultry, meat and store cupboard essentials. WJFG also owns Abel & Cole, MyFresh and The Food Doctor.