The Accidental Success
By Peter Mitchell


Retirement gives you the opportunity to pursue those hobbies you’ve put off for years. You can putter around the garden for hours on end, finally start writing the next great Canadian novel, or build a million-dollar baking enterprise in your own backyard.
The latter is exactly what John and Ellie Voortman did when they started Oakrun Farm Bakery in 1978 with a small outlet on Carluke Road that was intended to be nothing more than a post-retirement hobby. It has since put the gold into their golden years.
On March 28, Oakrun Farm Bakery won the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce’s 2006 Special Recognition Award for Business Achievement. The bakery is only the eighth company to receive this honour in the 24 years the Chamber has been presenting awards to local businesses; and the first that is family owned and operated.
Oakrun produces a variety of baked goods from English muffins to Danish pastries both fresh and frozen, and they supply products to McDonald’s, Tim Hortons and many retail outlets across Canada, the U.S., Mexico and Puerto Rico. Late last year, they began importing Amish pies to outlets in the United States, and are pursuing plans to distribute them to Canada. Their most recent deal, completed in March, will see them supplying various supermarket chains and food distributors in Thailand. It was quite a coup for the bakery but, as John Voortman says, “Every customer is a coup.”
That was certainly the case in the very early years when customers were initially slow in coming. Voortman remembers, “We started with 2,000 square feet, two employees, and we struggled for three years. Every once in a while we’d say ‘One more day and if it doesn’t get any better, maybe we have to quit.’ But you know what? We said it but we didn’t really mean it.”
Rather than quit, they sought some expert advice from Voortman’s brothers Harry and William, co-founders of Burlington’s Voortman Cookies. Harry suggested they expand their product range to include more than bread. In 1979, Oakrun began making Englilsh muffins and opportunity soon knocked –albeit elusively at first.
“One day McDonald’s called us. They came, looked at our bakery and said, ‘Your equipment is not up to McDonald’s standards,” John recalls. “That hurt my feelings. When they were gone I remember saying to my wife, ‘Nobody’s going to say that again.’”
There must have been something about their bakery though, because in six months McDonald’s was back. “They called back and said, ‘Can we come and talk to you”’ They came and told me they required a larger freezer. I told them I didn’t have enough money to build a freezer, and they said, ‘Well, we’ll help you do that.’ They helped us get started and from there it grew.”
In September of 2006, Oakrun completed its latest expansion that saw the facility increase to 260,000 square feet, and included a $2.8 million renovation for yet another freezer. The bakery now produces more than 20 product lines and employs 480 full-time and 20 part time staff. Sales for 2006 totaled $113,580 million.
That’s a lot of dough in every sense of the word, but the Special Recognition Award is not earned through success alone. What a company does with its success is also a key factor. As devoted Christians, the Voortmans run their business with the values they apply to their faith and their lives. It guides their working philosophy through the tenet that by treating your employees well, they will respond in kind.
Oakrun has also built a loyal workforce through its profit-sharing program, and has received recognition for providing recent immigrants the opportunity to join their team and build new lives of their own. Immigrants themselves, the Voortmans know first-hand the difficulties faced by those who arrive from foreign shores to build a new life.
John Voortman first came to Canada in 1948 and worked for a canning factory in Picton. He then moved to Hamilton to work for the National System of Baking. The money was barely enough to support his family, let alone save for his dream, so he turned to real estate to improve his chances. It took another 25 years to make his dream a reality.
“I couldn’t afford to go out on my own,” Voortman says. “But I figured if I do something where I can make a little bit more money, maybe I can get enough to start a little bakery. It took until I was 50 to start that little bakery.”
So when he received a call from his church asking if Oakrun could provide employment for some recently arrived Vietnamese people, he was happy to help. “They sent us three brothers. We thought we were doing them a favour, but they did us a favour because they were so good. They brought a whole lot more than we ever could have expected. That set the tone for the rest of the years.”
They also work with St. Leonard’s Halfway House in Hamilton to give adult offenders on conditional release a chance to start again. “We don’t turn anybody down, Voortman says. “It works, and the beautiful part is it adds to the atmosphere. Everybody cares for each other. You can’t mistreat people if you pray for them in the morning. That’s where it starts. It affects everything you do.”
That philosophy has helped Oakrun rank 34th in Hamilton’s current list of Top 100 Employers.
Shortly after adding the Special Achievement Award to their list of ‘post-retirement’ achievements and accolades, the Voortmans decided to do something they originally meant to do way back in 1978. Tony Tristani, vice-president of Oakrun, explains: “John and Ellie decided to move on to greener pastures. They took a good hard look at potential companies that would maintain the legacy and philosophy of Oakrun and not make any changes to their key programs like profit-sharing.”
They found a perfect fit. On April 30 they sold Oakrun to Brampton-based Pine Ridge Foods, which also owns Western Creamery, Liberty Brand Products Inc., and Gourmet Baker. Tristani promises the company will still operate according to the Voortman’s values and methods, and the relationship with Pine Ridge will allow Oakrun the ability to expand.
As for John and Ellie? They were unavailable to comment on the sale. Almost 30 years late they have finally retired, and are taking a well-deserved rest.



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Biz Hamilton is published by Town Media Inc.