INCREASED production and new export markets beckon for the business behind Bury’s most famous delicacy with ambitious £1.5 million expansion plans.

The Bury Black Pudding Company, whose products are sold in many of the UK’s top supermarkets, will double its floorspace by taking over adjoining units at its base at the J2 Business Park in Bridge Hall Lane, Heap Bridge.

The move will spearhead the firm’s plans to boost production, increase its workforce and signifi-cantly raise its profile overseas.

Entrepreneur Debbie Pierce launched the business in 2003 from her Radcliffe home on a shoestring budget of just £1,000.

Three years later, the firm moved to its current £700,000 manufacturing site.

The Bury Black Pudding Company manufactures traditional, quality black puddings, packed in either traditional rings, slices, rolls or catering sticks.

Apart from the product being stocked by most of the country’s major supermarkets, the black puddings are also supplied to butchers, hotels, restaurants, pub chains, farm shops and to individual customers through the firm’s internet site and market stall.

Unveiling the expansion plans, managing director Debbie said: “We have been bursting at the seams for some time in our unit, so we have just signed to take over the two units attached to us.

“This will more than double our space and enable us to expand the business, as space has been restricting us from doing that. We will be fitting the two units out over the next four months and will hopefully have them 80 per cent useable by Christmas, then finishing off the last 20 per cent in January to February.”

On plans to expand its overseas markets, she added: “We do a little bit of export at the moment, but are about to get into it in a big way. And we’ll be able to supply larger food service companies too, as we can freeze product on site after we’ve finished the expansion.

“The expansion will cost us £1.5 million. We plan to double our turnover within the next three years from £3.2 million to more than £6 million and staff numbers should increase from 60 to around 85. We produce 30 to 35 tonnes per week currently and this goes up to 49 tonnes per week over the Christmas period. We plan to increase production to between 50 to 60 tonnes per week over the next three years.”

Meanwhile, the company’s chilli black pudding and its newly-launched gluten-free black pudding are in the process of being supplied to two major retailers.

The Bury Black Pudding Company currently supplies Tesco, Sains-bury’s, Morrisons, Asda, Waitrose, Co-op, Iceland, BHS, Budgens and Londis.

The firm also fulfils several export orders, the main two being the Royal Caribbean cruise liners and military shops in Cyprus.