A NORTH Yorkshire manufacturer of bakeware equipment is celebrating 100 years of manufacturing.

Invicta Bakeware, which now operates from custom-built premises in Pickering, began life in 1912 as the Invicta Sheet Metal Company of Leeds.

It moved to the edge of the North York Moors in the 1970s and has steadily invested in its premises, staff and plant to combine traditional manufacturing methods with innovation and development.

While general bakery racks, oven racks, baking sheets, bread and industrial cake tins make up the largest proportion of its turnover, John Waddington, managing director, said it was always adding to its range of products.

In 2009, the business acquired Mackies (GB) Ltd and its The Cup Tray Company division, which led the business to develop a patented tray locking system.

Mr Waddington, who has been with the business for more than 30 years, said: “Over the years, Invicta has built up an extensive product range and serves a broad customer base that includes many prominent names in the baking and food industry. And, although the company has the agility to respond to the heavy demands of the groups, we are also happy to scale and personalise our services to cater for the smaller, more specialised end of the market.

“We are proud to be part of this country’s manufacturing heritage and being a UK-based company optimises our capability to design, manufacture and deliver on time appropriate and responsive solutions that meet our customers’ individual requirements.”

He said the business invested in its staff and their skills, which led to many of its 32 employees spending most of their working lives with the business.

“Our can-do policy, combined with an innovative approach to developing a strong range of quality products has been the driving force behind the organisation over the past century and is a formula that will take us into the next 100 years of business,” he said.