The news that Hundreds of jobs are at risk at the Kellogg’s plant is Trafford Park could mean the region saying goodbye to a brand who history and connection to region goes back over 200 years
Kellanova, which owns the Greater Manchester Trafford Park plant, said the company could not see a “long-term future” for it today and it may shut its doors in 2026
The story starts in 1809, a clergyman of the name of William Metcalfe renounced meat and strong drink.
Eight years later he would lead a flock of Manchester Christians to Philadelphia to found a vegetarian church.
His mission would inspire the Kellogg brothers to found a sanatorium at Battle Creek in the state of Michigan where they were to experiment with cereals whilst the patients were to partake in the meatless meal.
The Kelloggs idea would return to Trafford Park in the 1930’s just over twenty years after W.K. Kellogg had opened the “Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company” and carefully hired his first forty four employees. “Remember you can recover from any ordinary disease by discontinuing coffee and poor food and using Postum food coffee and grape nuts” was their advertising motto.
Their factory has stood on the corner of Warwick and Talbot roads since 1938 and is now the world’s largest cereal manufacturing plant.
Since the very first batch of Corn Flakes came off the production line in May 1938, the factory now produces sixty seven million packets of Corn Flakes every year for the UK alone.
To mark the company’s 75th anniversary the company announced that it would be donating 75,000 breakfasts to food banks across Greater Manchester its managing director citing a report that said nine percent of people in Greater Manchester are skipping a meal so that other family members can eat.
“The picture is stark. I did not expect to see this kind of thing in my own country; in developing Asia yes, but not in Britain.”
Reacting to the news of the closure Andrew Western MP said in a statement
“This would be a devastating loss to the people of Stretford and Urmston. Kellogg’s has a long and proud history in the constituency and the site in Trafford Park has been an iconic part of our community for decades – with generations of local families working there.
“My first thoughts are with the staff that are affected by these deeply worrying proposals and I will reach out to the trade unions that represent them to offer any support that I can.
“There is now going to be a consultation process and I will remain in conversation with Kellogg’s in the sincere hope that they will reconsider closing this site.”
