Robert Lloyd - a Sir Gar Blog of random news . . . and some Clecs!

One of the most well -established and best-known businesses in South Wales has opened a new shop in the popular seaside resort of Porthcawl in the County Borough of Bridgend. The new Jenkins Bakery shop in John Street is the 28th in a chain of retail outlets covering a sizeable area in South Wales, from Bridgend in the east to Carmarthen in the west and north to Ystradgynlais in Powys. “This is the third new shop we have opened in the last 12 months,” Jenkins Bakery Operations Director Russell Jenkins proudly declared today. “We are well known for having our roots as a family firm in Llanelli, but we will continue to expand our range of shops as and when we see fit. “The John Street shop in Porthcawl is managed by Zoe Rees and is in a prime town centre location in the semi-pedestrianised precinct with plenty of car parking available nearby. “It’s an exciting new location for all of us at Jenkins Bakery and we are looking forward to making friends with all our new customers in Port...

The new Jenkins Bakery shop has opened in East Gate, Llanelli. Pictured at the opening at Unit 11, East Gate, SA15 3YF (Tel: 01554 755819) - Christopher Evans, left, Lloyds TSB Commercial relationship director for West Wales, shop manager John Viola and David Jenkins, company secretary and director of the Jenkins Bakery. More photos on this link - https://plus.google.com/photos/114057859711421073094/albums/5819457404826946929

The Jenkins Bakery has raised £1600 for Cancer Research UK through as special campaign selling pink cakes at the firm's shops. A cheque for £1,600.09 was handed over by staff at bakery's Trostre, Llanelli, HQ, to Carrie Barlow, Cancer Research UK area volunteer manager. Operations director Russell Jenkins said: "Throughout the year, we try and support as much charitable activity as we can. The ladies in our shops wore pink T-shirts for the duration of the Cancer Research fund-raising and the pink cakes were a big hit with customers. "Our customers are very important to us as it is their support which helps us make significant charitable donations throughout the year." The Jenkins bakery has 25 shops across South Wales and employs 300 people, full and part-time, with headquarters in Trostre, Llanelli. Weblink - http://jenkinsbakery.co.uk/ Pictured top with Carrie Barlow, centre, Cancer Research UK area volunteer manager, are Jenkins Bakery staff, left to right...

Bosses at the Jenkins Bakery held a special lunch at the Stradey Park Hotel, Llanelli, to reward their long-serving staff. Jenkins Bakery company secretary and director David Jenkins said: "We pride ourselves on recognising our staff with an annual long service awards lunch. "We are a family business with a great tradition and we take great pleasure in the fact that we have a great relationship with our staff members. "Their loyal service is one of the pillars on which our business is built." Staff with more than 10 years of service were rewarded at the lunch. The fill list of long service staff members and their service - 10 – 15 years Helen Allen; Sian Morgan; Anthea Davies; Sheran Davies; Sandra Jones; Linda Jones; Jackie Howells; Barbara Brabant; Susan Jenkins; Sharon Cox; Gino Disalvo; Samantha Smith; Filippo Difede; Delyth Davies; Biagio Borrelli; Christine John; Susan Williams; Carole Podger; Jason Morris; Iora Bailey; Stewart Hickman; Loraine Char...

One of the best-known bakery firms in South Wales has welcomed the news of the Government’s U-turn on the so-called ‘pasty tax’. Jenkins the Bakers, a third generation family business based in Llanelli and with shops across South West Wales, was in the vanguard of the campaign to halt the tax proposal. “The Government U-turn is a victory for people power,” said the Jenkins Bakery’s company secretary and director David Jenkins. “At the outset, we said that the tax was unmanageable, unpalatable and unfair. “The Government was out of order in attempting to introduce VAT on some of the nation’s favourite and most affordable foods. “We know how popular our products are and many appeal to families who are already suffering severe budget restraints in these difficult economic times. “If the ‘pasty tax’ had gone ahead, our customers would have felt the damage of this unwelcome tax in their pockets and that would have been bad news all around. The Chancellor, George Osborne, angered craft ...

One of the bosses from popular South Wales bakery Jenkins the Bakers joined a march on No10 Downing Street today in protest at the Pasty Tax. David Jenkins, commercial director and company secretary with Jenkins the Bakers, joined hundreds of bakers in presenting a petition objecting to Pasty Tax to No10. Mr Jenkins said: “It is grossly unfair to ask the consumer to pay an extra 20 per cent on the product simply because it is either hot or warm. “We live in a very difficult economic climate and a lot of our customers are on very tight budgets and they cannot be expected to pay the extra amount. “It’s an unfair tax” The Jenkins Bakery currently sells more than 50,000 corned beef pasties every week in South West Wales. Mr Jenkins said the proposed 20 per cent VAT would obviously hit sales of the bakery’s products. Today’s march was organised by the National Association of Master Bakers (NAMB) and started from Pudding Lane. Up to this morning, nearly 500,000 signatures had been collected ...

There was a big surprise for bosses from the Jenkins Bakery when they attended the annual Culture and Lifestyle awards organised by The Wave and Swansea Sound radio stations at the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea. The Llanelli-based bakery received one of the most prestigious awards of the evening – the Lifetime Achievement Award. It was a fitting honour as the bakery is currently celebrating its 90th anniversary. “It came as something of a shock to receive the award,” said Commercial Director and Company Secretary David Jenkins. “We had no idea beforehand as we didn’t know that we were in the running for anything. “It was a great honour to receive the award and very appropriate in this, our 90th year. It was also nice to hear how the public had backed us to receive the award. “As a bakery, our HQ is in Llanelli, but we have shops throughout the area covered by the radio stations. It is nice to learn that we are appreciated and that our achievements over 90 years can be recognise...

The Llanelli-based Jenkins Bakery business has proved yet again that it knows that people are at the heart of every good business. “It may sound like a bit of a cliché, but it is a proven fact that investment in people pays dividends,” said Russell Jenkins, the operations director of the Jenkins Bakery. One of the key planks in the company’s philosophy is rewarding long service employees with an annual lunch at the Stradey Park Hotel in Llanelli. “This year, our 90th in business, we have more than 40 people who are celebrating 10 years or more service with the company. “I think that’s quite an achievement in this modern-day world when many businesses struggle to retain staff. “Out of our long service employees, a total of 34 were able to attend our lunch and it’s just one way in which we like to thank staff for their loyal service.” Mr Jenkins added: “We view people as our prime assets and are fortunate to have a relatively stable workforce thus giving the business a wealth of knowledg...

Llanelli AFC (The Reds of Llanelli Town) have announced that their kit sponsors from last season, the Jenkins Bakery, have decided to continue their sponsorship for the coming season. In the picture above are Reds players Craig Richards, Jordan Follows and Craig Williams, receiving the new kit from David Jenkins, director and company secretary of the Jenkins Bakery. The picture was taken outside Jenkins shop in the Market Precinct in Llanelli with the Welsh Cup Trophy also on show. Reds General Manager Nigel Richards said: “We are extremely grateful to David and Russell Jenkins and all the staff at Jenkins Bakers for their continued shirt sponsorship. "With them on the front of our shirts, we had a successful season last time out, so let’s hope that continues this year.” The Reds face a massive match on Monday, August 8, when they take on Manchester United Reserves at Parc y Scarlets. Mr David Jenkins commented: “Being a local business established 90 years ago this year we are del...

The Jenkins Bakery in Llanelli has said a very fond farewell to one of the firm’s longest-serving employees. Patricia Hazard, area retail manager, has retired after almost 24 years service with the Jenkins Bakery. “We are very proud of the fact that we are a family-run business with a host of employees who chalk up more than 20 years with us,” said Operations Director Russell Jenkins. “Pat has made a significant contribution to the success of the business over the years and work colleagues and customers will miss her. However, we would like to wish her a well-deserved, long and healthy retirement.” Patricia said: “I have been with the company for almost 24 years and have enjoyed every moment. Since I began in 1987, I have been privileged to see the company grow from five to 25 shops and been part of its development into one of the most successful family bakery businesses in Wales. “I would like to thank the Jenkins family for employing me. They have given me the opportunity for profess...

Tomorrow is the day when people go flipping mad for pancakes. And Llanelli’s biggest bakery will be doing their bit to mark Shrove Tuesday. “Pancakes are popular all the year around,” said Jenkins the Bakers director and company secretary David Jenkins. “But all our shops will be making a special effort with pancakes on Tuesday. “We reckon that we sell something like 15,000 pancakes every Shrove Tuesday, so you can see how popular they are. “In fact, we sell two varieties – a fruit pancake and a plain pancake. The order book from our shops total 7465 fruit pancakes and 8250 plain pancakes for tomorrow!” Mr Jenkins added: “This is a busy time of year for us as we recently put out a special range of typically Welsh products to mark St David’s Day. “We pride ourselves as being a bakery business which knows its customers and we know how people love to celebrate different events such as St David’s Day and Shrove Tuesday. “This year is also an extra special one for us at Jenkins, as we are a...

The importance of training the bakers of the future was highlighted during a two-day bakery and confectionery industry conference staged in Llanelli. The British Confectioners’ Association (the body recognised as the torch-bearers for craft baking in the UK) picked Llanelli as the venue for their conference in honour of Jenkins the Bakers. The Jenkins business is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year. Operations Director Russell Jenkins said the two-day visit by the BCA included business workshops, tours of the Jenkins Bakery main HQ in Trostre and visits to many Jenkins shops in the area. Mr Jenkins added: “They really do pack in as much as they can into BCA meetings. The BCA is highly regarded for preserving the craft element of what we do in the bakery industry. But it is also highly focused on innovation and the future and helping to improve the industry. “The conference is always known for its healthy exchange of ideas and best practice in the craft baking industry and this s...

The Jenkins family rolled out the welcome mat for the British Confectioners Association conference in Llanelli this week. Pictured are BCA chairman Sandy Milne, centre, with David Jenkins, left, and Russell Jenkins, of Jenkins Bakery of Llanelli. See earlier posts for more on the conference. The conference was featured in the South Wales Evening Post's business supplement on Monday. David Jenkins was also interviewed by the BBC for the evening news bulletins on Tuesday. For more photos, see - http://picasaweb.google.com/robertapvincent/BCAConferenceLlanelli#

The leading lights in the UK bakery and confectionery industry are visiting Llanelli next week (January 18 and 19) in honour of one of our oldest businesses. Jenkins the Bakers, a third generation family business based in Llanelli, has the honour of hosting a meeting of the British Confectioners’ Association. The honour comes as the Jenkins Bakery begins to celebrate its 90th anniversary. “This year is a very special one for all of us here at Jenkins,” said Commercial Director and Company Secretary David Jenkins. “The British Confectioners’ Association is regarded as the leading forum in the national bakery industry and it is marvellous that they have agreed to visit Llanelli during this our 90th year.” Operations Director Russell Jenkins said the two-day visit by the BCA would include business workshops, tours of the Jenkins Bakery main HQ in Trostre and visits to many Jenkins shops in the area. Mr Jenkins added: “They really do pack in as much as they can into BCA meetings. The BCA i...