Steve Valentine, managing director, at the controls of one of his chocolate manufacturing machines

One of his 39 employees pours chocolate into moulds at the start of the mass production process

The specialist moulds are made from polycarbonate plastic. These are made by contractors to Mr Valentine’s specification

They are used to turn out items in production runs of up to 250,000 at a time, which are then hand finished

An employee applies the finishing touches to lollipops emblazoned with special lettering

Mr Valentine dismisses as “ludicrous” the idea that his business could ever be displaced by chocolate imported from a low-cost country such as China

Gwynned’s sales are in the range of “several million pounds a year”, says Mr Valentine