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 McVities/Carr factory in Carlisle | |
| Company type | Private (1831–1964) Subsidiary (1931–) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1831; 194 years ago (1831) inCarlisle,Cumberland |
| Founder | Jonathan Dodgson Carr |
| Headquarters | , United Kingdom |
| Products | Biscuits (United Biscuits) Flour (Carr's Flour Mills Ltd) |
| Parent |
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| Website | carrscrackers.com |
Carr's is a Britishbiscuit andcracker manufacturer, currently owned byPladis Global through its subsidiaryUnited Biscuits. The company was founded in 1831 by Jonathan Dodgson Carr and is marketed in the United States byKellogg's.
In 1831, Carr formed a small bakery and biscuit factory in theEnglish city ofCarlisle inCumberland; he received aroyal warrant in 1841.[1] Within 15 years of being founded, it had become Britain's largest baking business.[2]
Carr's business was both a mill and a bakery, an early example ofvertical integration, and produced bread by night and biscuits by day.[3] The biscuits were loosely based on dry biscuits used on long voyages by sailors.[3] They could be kept crisp and fresh in tins, and despite their fragility could easily be transported to other parts of the country by canal and railway.[3]
Jonathan Carr protested against theCorn Laws, which placed steep tariffs on imported wheat to keep the price of British wheat artificially high. This meant bread was expensive even in times of famine.[4] Carr died in 1884, but by 1885, the company was making 128 varieties of biscuit and employing 1000 workers.[5]
In 1894, the company was registered as Carr and Co. Ltd., but reverted to being a private company in 1908. Carrs Flour Mills Limited was incorporated after acquiring the flour-milling assets.[5][2] Jonathan's four sons were less skilled at managing the business, but biscuit production remained in the family. It became part ofCavenham Foods in 1964 until 1972, when it was sold toUnited Biscuits group, along with Cavenham's other biscuit brandsWright's Biscuits and Kemps for $10 million.[3][6][7] United Biscuits was sold by its private equity owners to the Turkish-based multinationalYıldız Holding in 2014; in 2016, all UB brands including Carr's were combined with Yıldız's other snack brands to formpladis.
Among members of the Carr family who worked for the business was formerCommando Capt. Richard Carr MBE. He was decorated for repeated escape attempts from Italian and Germanprisoner-of-war camps in theSecond World War.[8]
Since 1972, the Carr's biscuit factory has been part ofUnited Biscuits, and the Carr's branded products are marketed in the US byKellogg's. The factory today is known officially as McVitie's, but still known locally as Carr's.
Carr's Flour Mills and the later established agricultural supplies and feeds businesses became Carr's Milling Industries plc, which is still based in Carlisle and now known as Carr's Group PLC. Its products have since the 1990s appeared in UK supermarkets through the Carr's Breadmaker flour range. Carr's Group also own companies involved in light engineering.[2] In 2016, Carr's Group sold the flour-milling division to Whitworths Holdings Ltd.
In March 2012, it was announced that Carr's Table Water Biscuits had lost its royal warrant due to 'changing tastes' in theRoyal Households.[9] Carr's promptly licensed the coat of arms of theCity of Carlisle to replace the coat of royal arms on their packaging.
In 2005, the Caldewgate factory in Carlisle lost two months' production due to flooding. Production resumed after a £1 million government grant.[10]
The Caldewgate factory was flooded again on 6 December 2015, with levels exceeding five feet (over 150 cm). The floodwater damaged the brick ovens and resulted in product shortages on retail shelves.[10][11] After closure of the works for a month to repair and clear flood damage, production and distribution gradually resumed in spring 2016.[12]
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