A FOOD industry firm in East Lancashire has marked its official 80th birthday with a giant party for staff and supporters.

But in reality the Birchalls has been helping to keep the Burnley area fed for more than a century.

Today Birchall Foodservice, which trades out of the Burnley Bridge business park at Hapton, is a £30million turnover operation, with further depots in Durham, Sheffield and Stoke-on-Trent.

The origins of the five generations venture though can be traced back to local grocer George Chichester Birchall.

Company chairman Colin Birchall said: "We were celebrating the 80th anniversary of the formation of the limited company.

"However, it was just over 100 years ago when my grandfather George Chichester Birchall started wholesaling to bakeries from the rear of his off licence, selling eggs, flour, butter and yeast.

"It was the call to arms for my father in 1939 at the start of the Second World War that prompted the formal registration of the limited company, which we are now celebrating.

"It has been an honour and a privilege to play my role in the ascension of the business and it is wonderful now to see three generations actively working in the company to take it forward and hopefully enjoy even more success in the future.”

He was one of the guests of honour, along with wife Christine, who serves as their company secretary, when Birchall hosted a big birthday bash at The Prairie Sports Village recently.

More than 200 guests packed out the venue from across the north, with the gathering also doubling as a food services exhibition, featuring produce from a range of suppliers, on-site food vans and a taster session for the firm's Christmas turkey offerings.

The company has also recently pioneered a drive to become more environmentally friendly, with its Plastic Action campaign, to reduce the amount of unnecessary packaging in the food supply chain. They also have 'free from' brochures and offer advice on dysphagia.

Their own brand Country Range has been behind a Student Chef Challenge.

The celebrations later continued with a ‘BIG Event’ for customers at the company’s TED event suite, welcoming 200 guests from across the north of England for a foodservice exhibition, with stands from a range of leading suppliers, on-site food vans and tastings of the company’s turkey offering for Christmas.

A leading foodservice wholesaler celebrated its 80th anniversary in style with a fun party for all of its employees – followed by a BIG Event for its customers.

The two celebrations shone a spotlight on the remarkable success of Birchall Foodservice, an independent family-owned business which was established in Burnley, Lancashire, in 1939.

From humble beginnings, it has grown from a business selling just four products to a £30million operation with over 150 employees and depots in Burnley, Durham, Sheffield and Stoke-on-Trent.

Four generations of the Birchall family attended the event, which was held at The Prairie Sports Village, with guests of honour company chairman Colin Birchall and his wife Christine, who is company secretary (both featured on the anniversary cake).

Colin said: “We were celebrating the 80th anniversary of the formation of the limited company, however, it was just over 100 years ago when my grandfather George Chichester Birchall started wholesaling to bakeries from the rear of his off licence, selling eggs, flour, butter and yeast.

“It was the call to arms for my father in 1939 at the start of the Second World War that prompted the formal registration of the limited company, which we are now celebrating.

“It has been an honour and a privilege to play my role in the ascension of the business and it is wonderful now to see three generations actively working in the company to take it forward and hopefully enjoy even more success in the future.”

The celebrations later continued with a ‘BIG Event’ for customers at the company’s TED event suite, welcoming 200 guests from across the north of England for a foodservice exhibition, with stands from a range of leading suppliers, on-site food vans and tastings of the company’s turkey offering for Christmas.