Victoria Mills were built in 1886 after John Battams Whitworth applied for planning permission. He and his brothers, Herbert and Newton, then started to mill under the name of Whitworth Bros. To begin with it was a producer to local bakeries with Frank George as the manager.
In 1932 the Weetabix factory was started at nearby Burton Latimer. The proprietors used Wallaces old mill which was leased by Frank George; therefore a connection was made with Whitworths and the wheat supplied to them. The wheat arrived at the mill via London barges, the housing can still be seen today.
1936 saw Whitworths producing their own branded flours for the first time. Unfortunately 1941 saw a huge fire at a grain store here but luckily the mill was not affected. This was followed in 1947 by severe flooding from the River Nene.
Whitworths successfully revolutionised the process of washing and packaging dried fruits in the 1950s followed by 'no need to soak fruit' in the 1960s. This used some of the old milling equipment.
Royal Warrants were awarded to the company by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in 1971 and by Queen Elizabeth II in 1974. Whitworths became a Limited company in 1985 and merged with Napier Brown on 15th January 1988; adding white and brown sugars to the range. They also became known in High volume bread production, Part-cooked items, Don Miller’s Hot Bread Kitchens and a chain of neighbourhood Hot Bread shops. Also the Agricultural Division, a major supplier of seed and feed products, began working with the business on local and international ventures.
In 1997 Scotia Haven acquired Whitworths Ltd from Napier Brown. This meant that more products could be included such as dried fruit and nuts; the venture formed the Whitworths Group.
Today they are a leading company in the UK supplying home baking, cooking and healthy snacking products. They bring grain to this factory which has been grown, harvested, cleaned, packed and transported from around the world.
Part of the innovation of this company is the use of the Manta Remote Electronic Seal as is described here:
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'Whitworth Bros Enhances Food Safety With Manta Remote Electronic Seal From Unisto
Whitworth Bros Ltd, one of the UK’s leading flour millers, has installed the latest Manta Remote electronic seals on its core fleet of bulk tankers. This is the first time that an electronic seal has been deployed to protect multiple tanker hatches and discharge valves, and will enable Whitworth Bros Ltd to ensure that the highest level of food safety is achieved for every delivery. The Manta Remote has been developed and supplied by Unisto, the world’s leading supplier of reusable electronic security seals to the transport industry. “We have worked closely in partnership with Whitworth Bros Ltd over the last five years to develop this unique solution which does, we believe, have the potential to make a significant impact on improving bulk tanker security worldwide,” commented Donald Miller, Sales and Marketing Director of Unisto.
The installation was carried out by Unisto and a central Manta Remote unit has been mounted at the rear of each tanker protected by a mudflap to help keep it clean. Secure plug connectors installed on each of the top hatches and discharge valves link directly with the central unit to generate a single unique seal number when they are secured by the driver.
According to Mike Peters, Operations Director of Whitworth Bros Ltd: The new Unisto electronic seal provides us with a significant advantage over our competitors by providing our customers with the confidence that we are achieving the highest level of food security when sealing bulk tankers. It allows customers to interrogate the electronic system and confirm the exact date and time that the tanker hatches and discharge valves were sealed. This far exceeds the audit traceability of the traditional method of sealing tanker hatches and discharge valves with plastic seals. The Manta Remote removes the risk of foreign body contamination when plastic seals are opened."
The Manta Remote seals are also enabling Whitworth Bros Ltd to speed up deliveries and streamline administration processes by eliminating the need to manually fit up to six traditional plastic seals, each of which had a unique identification number that had to be recorded by the driver and checked by the customer at the point of delivery.
The advanced Manta Remote seal also stores data on the last 100 events providing a timed audit trail for detailed analysis of driver or tanker histories. This data can be downloaded via infrared (IrDA Interface) links using a small handheld unit with a USB connection that enables data to be exported using XML format for use in commonly used spreadsheet and database programmes.
To ensure that the Manta Remote electronic seals maintain maximum operational effectiveness, Unisto also provides comprehensive levels of support including ongoing maintenance and regular performance checks.'
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