Richard Pemberton, Manufacturing Manager, Fox’s Biscuits, Kirkham

I joined Northern Foods in January 2006, as Manufacturing Manager working within the Bakery division at Fox’s Biscuits Kirkham. 

Prior to joining Northern Foods I worked in the crisps and snacks sector undertaking a number of roles including planning manager, national account manager and manufacturing controller.

My desire to move back into more of an operational role led to me joining Fox’s.

The Kirkham site is an excellent factory with the key ingredients that make it so successful – good people and good products.  I have overall responsibility for 350 people and oversee the production of 6,000,000 biscuits everyday. My day to day role consists of a daily review of the previous 24 hours performance.  This is summarised in a detailed performance pack that arrives at 8am every day.  This covers Safety, Quality, Efficiency, Waste, Downtime and any general communication issues.  The detail in the pack is communicated to all shifts at 8am, 3pm and 10.15pm.  An ongoing review of the production plan is also completed daily to assess if there are any changes needed to fully meet the needs of our customers.

 

One of the main challenges of my role is dealing with the fast paced demand profile from our customers.  To accurately plan labour against an ever changing demand is extremely challenging.  The rewards are getting this right and fully meeting the needs of our customers and meeting the needs of Northern, as regards hitting our manufacturing cost targets!

The Kirkham site and Northern Foods encourage all employees to take responsibility for their own role.  Teams are empowered and encouraged to utilise continuous improvement techniques to develop and deliver benefits to the business.  High standards are expected and this culture is cascaded throughout the business and the site alike. Communication at Kirkham is excellent.  This includes a weekly brief for all employees on site and a monthly brief dedicated to safety.

I see my career progressing with Northern Foods and would like to achieve general manager level. I am looking forward to continuing to be part of an exciting time for Northern.

My favourite Fox’s product is chocolate Rocky!