‘This factory is part of our heritage’ – how one food and drink company links a family across the generations

Food and drink are vital to any family gathering, and when the Boyce family get together, their chatter soon turns to Nestlé – with generations of Boyces having worked at the company’s Tutbury factory in Derbyshire.

“We’ve all got Nestlé in common,” says Sam Boyce, 58. “When you look back at the people who have worked there in our family, you can trace it back through World War II. It’s special. It’s part of our heritage.”

The Tutbury factory began life in 1901, producing tinned milk. Sam’s sister Karen, who also works for Nestlé, remembers their nana working there.

[L-R] Ryan, Karen and Sam Boyce are the latest in a long line of family members to work for Nestlé ( 
Image:
Glen Minikin/Daily Mirror)
Numerous uncles also clocked in at the factory, which sits at the heart of the local community.

In 1959, it switched to manufacturing instant coffee, and now produces 170,000 jars of Nescafé every day, 25 million Nescafé Dolce Gusto pods a week, and a variety of Starbucks at Home products.

Over the decades, Sam and Karen have seen the factory change and grow, and the company has continued to provide their village with stability and employment opportunities.

Boyce ancestors Malcolm and Carina Kenny worked at the Nescafé factory in Tutbury, Derbyshire, for years ( 
Image:
Glen Minikin/Daily Mirror)
Sam started there in 1995, packing sachets of coffee created especially for Concorde: “It was such a laugh because we could talk and joke. It didn’t feel like going to work; it felt like being with your mates!

“It’s all automatic nowadays, and that’s a big step forward. What would take us a couple of days to do now takes a couple of hours.”

Nestlé’s Nescafé brand has been produced at the Tutbury factory since 1959 ( 
Image:
Nestlé)
Sam has since worked his way up to become a shift manager: “The opportunities are fantastic, and it gives you a great life. Everything I’ve ever wanted – a motorbike, car, holidays around the world – I’ve got.

“You also get to visit other countries and see the way they work – I’ve been to Switzerland, Denmark and Sweden with Nestlé.”

Karen, 63, who joined in 1998, says: “I started working in the evenings when my kids were at school, so the work could fit around family time.”

Now a technical operator making sachets for hotels, she takes pride when she has a cuppa on holiday, thinking, ‘I made that!’

“When I first saw those great big machines, I thought I’d never be able to do it,” Karen says, recalling when she started at the factory. But everybody was so friendly and ready to help. And because we have so much family history, I feel very comfortable.”

Son Ryan, sister Karen and dad Sam Boyce all work at the Tutbury factory in various roles ( 
Image:
Glen Minikin/Daily Mirror)
Continuing the family tradition, Sam’s son Ryan, 38, works as a lead operator. He says: “I’d like to go into engineering, and Nestlé is putting me through an NVQ level three in mechanical engineering. So it’s good to know the company helps you progress.

“When I first started, I had a young family, and having seen all my dad did for us growing up – the holidays he took us on and being around when we needed him – I wanted something similar for my kids.

“Having a good work-life balance means you’re there for the important stages, like watching my lad play football and run for the county, and being able to be at my daughter’s concerts.”

And while Nestlé is a company with a UK heritage that extends across many decades and many families, it also continues to be at the forefront of innovation, using the best of British skill and technology to produce one of the world’s best-known coffee brands.