Name: Nick Kenyon
Job title: managing director
Company: Dewlay Cheesemakers of Garstang
Sales: £12m
HQ: Garstang, near Preston
Number of employees: 70
What's it like to work for your company? Rewarding and enjoyable. Myself and my brother Richard are very hands-on and there is a large family feel.
Why is it a good employer? We nurture home-grown talent and believe our staff are our greatest asset. We have many staff who have been here for over 30 years.
What's the best thing about working there? Everyone gets to eat as much cheese as they like! We grade our cheese every day and it is vital that everyone at Dewlay knows what our cheese tastes like so they can spot any issues straight away.
Does the company offer any unusual benefits? We have been promoting the Cycle to Work Scheme. Our staff are covering 56 miles a day come rain or shine. This saves about two tonnes of CO2 emissions each year.
How does the company differ from its rivals? We put all our efforts into producing the best Lancashire cheese, which our father Neil perfected, as well as our community and green efforts.
Is there a definable company culture? Product. Heritage. Lancashire cheese is such a special product, produced with a two-day curd, and we remain true to that.
If the company were a car what would it be and why? At Dewlay we are very pro-eco so we would have to be a bicycle; probably a hybrid adaptable and efficient yet practical.
What's the training like and what qualifications can I earn? We offer NVQs and cheese grading courses. We also have staff doing foundation degrees and studying for A-levels in IT.
Has the company won any awards? We win awards for our cheese; Best Territorial Cheese in 2009 and 2010 at the International Cheese Awards, and in 2009 we won the Food Northwest Environmental Sustainability Award.
What's your proudest achievement of the past 12 months? Our wind turbine, which reduces our carbon emissions by 2,992 tonnes a year. This makes us the first cheesemaker in the UK to have renewable energy on this scale.
Are you looking for any people right now? No.
How does one go about applying for a job? We encourage people to drop in their CV. We have a stable team so seldom advertise.
What tips would you offer jobseekers? Be confident and make sure you are passionate about the job you want to do.
How do I find out more about the company? Come and visit our dairy. We organise tours for local groups and have a viewing gallery for the public to see the cheesemaking process.
Are you working on anything exciting right now? We have just launched Lancashire Chilli Toaster and Garstang Light grated cheese. We are also setting up a Go Green Fund to support locally based environmental initiatives. This is really exciting for us as we can give something back to the local community.
Job title: managing director
Company: Dewlay Cheesemakers of Garstang
Sales: £12m
HQ: Garstang, near Preston
Number of employees: 70
What's it like to work for your company? Rewarding and enjoyable. Myself and my brother Richard are very hands-on and there is a large family feel.
Why is it a good employer? We nurture home-grown talent and believe our staff are our greatest asset. We have many staff who have been here for over 30 years.
What's the best thing about working there? Everyone gets to eat as much cheese as they like! We grade our cheese every day and it is vital that everyone at Dewlay knows what our cheese tastes like so they can spot any issues straight away.
Does the company offer any unusual benefits? We have been promoting the Cycle to Work Scheme. Our staff are covering 56 miles a day come rain or shine. This saves about two tonnes of CO2 emissions each year.
How does the company differ from its rivals? We put all our efforts into producing the best Lancashire cheese, which our father Neil perfected, as well as our community and green efforts.
Is there a definable company culture? Product. Heritage. Lancashire cheese is such a special product, produced with a two-day curd, and we remain true to that.
If the company were a car what would it be and why? At Dewlay we are very pro-eco so we would have to be a bicycle; probably a hybrid adaptable and efficient yet practical.
What's the training like and what qualifications can I earn? We offer NVQs and cheese grading courses. We also have staff doing foundation degrees and studying for A-levels in IT.
Has the company won any awards? We win awards for our cheese; Best Territorial Cheese in 2009 and 2010 at the International Cheese Awards, and in 2009 we won the Food Northwest Environmental Sustainability Award.
What's your proudest achievement of the past 12 months? Our wind turbine, which reduces our carbon emissions by 2,992 tonnes a year. This makes us the first cheesemaker in the UK to have renewable energy on this scale.
Are you looking for any people right now? No.
How does one go about applying for a job? We encourage people to drop in their CV. We have a stable team so seldom advertise.
What tips would you offer jobseekers? Be confident and make sure you are passionate about the job you want to do.
How do I find out more about the company? Come and visit our dairy. We organise tours for local groups and have a viewing gallery for the public to see the cheesemaking process.
Are you working on anything exciting right now? We have just launched Lancashire Chilli Toaster and Garstang Light grated cheese. We are also setting up a Go Green Fund to support locally based environmental initiatives. This is really exciting for us as we can give something back to the local community.
No comments yet