From van boy to national account manager, Gerry Cassidy has seen a lot during 40 years in the Irish bakery industry. He talks to Ulster Grocer…

Gerry Cassidy has witnessed dramatic change since he came to work for Allied Bakeries in Belfast in 1970 as a van boy.
Consolidation has slashed the number of large bakeries in the province from 12 to three; the big local supermarket chains such as Stewarts and Crazy prices have vanished into history and nowadays, the first person to touch a loaf of fresh bread is usually the customer, such is the state of automation across the industry.

Things have also changed for Gerry: four decades after he first walked through the gates at Allied, he’s now national account manager in Ireland. In that time, he thinks he’s probably sold more than 300 million loaves – spread out end to end, they’d run twice round the planet!
“I’d don’t think that I’d ever get this job today without third level education,” he says. “I think it serves to show that you can still work your way up through the ranks. I’ve since gone back to study at Queen’s, but there’s a lot to be said for starting at the bottom, I think. It gives you a good grounding that serves you well as you grow. They talk about customer service today as if it’s something new, but if you’ve ever sold bread from a real bread van, then you knew what it was all about.”

In the 70’s, the Tip Top Bakery, as it was known then, operated a fleet of 100 traditional delivery vans which made door-to-door sales calls and delivered their bread to local grocery stores. As a van boy, Gerry’s job was to assist ‘the bread man’ with his daily rounds.

“Bread had been in our family for a long time,” he recalls. “My grandfather sold bread from a horse-drawn cart so it wasn’t a big surprise that I wanted to work in the bakery industry from an early age.

“Looking back at it in those early days…selling bread was very direct. Door-to-door sales were vital to the business and we were literally canvassing like politicians to attract new customers to our brands.

“I loved the job as I’ve always enjoyed meeting people and selling products. At the time, I didn’t realise I’d be in the same company for 40 years but here I am and I still love what I do. Even though the business has changed dramatically over the years, I still get a buzz from selling and working with people.”

Allied produces Kingsmill, the number one selling loaf in Northern Ireland. It also makes Sunblest, which is perceived as a strong local brand; Burgen, a niche product with a loyal following, and, of course, the ever-popular Veda. A full range of morning goods, bread rolls and fruit products is also produced.

There are around 320 people employed by the firm at its Belfast headquarters and it maintains depots in Dungannon and Coleraine. Around a million units a week are shipped all over Ireland from the plant at Orby Link. Within Northern Ireland, the company is unique in that it uses entirely its own staff to operate a fleet of 54 wholesale vans, no agents are involved in delivering the products.

“In my view, the priority is always to deliver a total package to the customer,” remarks Gerry. “We need to be able to service the whole trade, multiples, non-multiples, convenience and so on. So customer service is always a big thing for Allied, it’s paramount.”

Progression

At 17, Gerry was able to learn to drive and within three years, he’d progressed to van supervisor and then to area manager – the youngest manager in the company at the age of 20.

In the mid-70s, the Tip Top Bakery changed its name to Sunblest and Gerry was asked to move from retail sales into wholesale management. Not having been there before, he opted to become a member of the sales team rather than a manager.

“In all my working life, I’ve never asked a member of staff to do something that I haven’t done myself and so I was uncomfortable at the prospect of moving into the wholesale management side of the business without actually working in a direct sales role first,” he explains.
Gerry did eventually make the move though and became part of the team that won the bakery’s first sales in the Republic of Ireland. He went on to become national account manager in 1972, by which time the company had become known as Allied Bakeries.

He agrees that over the years the number of jobs in manufacturing and sales has declined as skill and the use of technology have increased, but he says that a fascination with the pace of change in the industry and the passion of the Allied ‘family’ are two of the factors that have kept him interested in the job for the last four decades:

“Bread is part of the staple diet in Northern Ireland and only has a shelf life of days, so the bakery industry is extremely fast-moving and constantly re-inventing itself,” says Gerry. “We’re progressing all the time and Allied Bakeries has invested heavily over the years in equipment and technology to ensure that it remains the biggest bakery in Northern Ireland, but it has also managed to retain the feeling of a family bakery.”

Over the years, Gerry has sold many familiar brands, from the early days of Tip Top, White Chief and Mighty White, to the more recent successes of Sunblest, Kingsmill and Allisons:

“The success of Kingsmill in particular since we introduced it in 1991 has been phenomenal”, he remarks. “For years now, it’s been Northern Ireland’s best-selling loaf by a long way which, for a premium product, is a remarkable achievement. We’re all very proud of what we’ve achieved with the Kingsmill brand.”

Leisure
Outside work, Gerry enjoys walking and has recently discovered the joys of skiing. He also sits on the board of Caravan, the charity for grocers, and is heavily involved in organising the annual Grocers’ Ball. He also works with Business in the Community through an Allied Bakeries mentoring scheme and is very proud of his involvement with Tasty Foods, a small business in west Belfast with which he started working in an advisory capacity 15 years ago:

“It’s a great business and they’re still going strong and calling me from time to time”, adds. Gerry. “That gives me a lot of satisfaction.”
As for the future, Gerry is content to continue doing what he knows best:

“I’m in a nice position,” he says. “I love my job but I could retire a happy man tomorrow if I wanted to.

“I also love my work with Caravan and I would urge everyone to do some voluntary work. It’s a wonderful feeling and very rewarding.

What advice would he offer any young people who are currently about to embark on a career of their own?
“You’ve got to have drive and self-motivation and always do the best you can,” he says. “Be honest, keep your word and always treat people how you would like to be treated. Otherwise, Northern Ireland is a small place and it will come back to haunt you some day.”

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