Rank Hovis News

10/10/2011
Colin Lomax hangs up the bakers whites!

At the end of the summer as the nights were drawing in Rank Hovis bid a fond farewell to Colin Lomax. After a lifetime in the baking industry and 37 years with Rank Hovis Colin decided it was time to hang up the bakers whites and enjoy a well earned retirement.

Colin started with Rank Hovis in 1974 where he took up the role of Hovis Technical Rep North/West England which involved providing hands on technical support for family bakers. With his expertise and previous experience within the industry, his role soon developed into plant baking and looking after the technical needs of the large bread manufacturers in the country at that time. Scotland also became a region that Colin looked after, with him spending one in three weeks in the country working with small high street bakers. We really did keep him busy!

Over the years Colin became more and more involved in both the baking industry and within the business; he was soon earning himself the title of Mr Hovis! He became integral to the Hovis competitions, which ran from the mid 70's and are still a regular event in the baking calendar today. At it's peak some 57 colleges were taking part! Remeber that famous Hovis TV advert in the 70's...yes, Colin was the baker behind the bread which featured! This was an early sign of his budding TV career that would follow some 30 years later, where he featured in numerous programmes including; A Loaf Affair, The Boat that Guy Built, Great British Bake Off and Young Baker of the Year. Within the industry he became involved in numerous societies and steering committees, all with the aim of training and honing the skills of young bakery students. His heavy involvement with the Alliance of Bakery Students and Trainees paid off and in 2000 he was elected as president; he also played a prolific role within the British Society of Baking, where he was elected chairman.

The crowning moment for Colin came in 2010 when he was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Baking Industry Awards for his Services To The Baking Industry; this is testament to his dedication and passion for the industry in which he's portrayed over the decades. Another accolade was also awarded a year later when he was presented with the Freedom of the Worshipful Company of Master Bakers, which he said, was a very proud moment for him.

Colin has clearly left his mark on the industry and Rank Hovis and he will be sorely missed by everyone who had the pleasure of working with him. He has certainly earned his retirement with all the hard work and effort he has put in over the years, which the industry will be forever grateful for. We wish him all the best and just maybe he'll be popping up on our TV screens again soon!

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