Old-fashioned culinary skills combined with high-tech baking methods are putting a Lynn breadmaking company on the fast track to success.

These days, bread isn't the only thing rising at Traditional Breads. Sales are up 30 percent over last year at the commercial bakery in the historic Lydia Pinkham Building on Western Avenue.

Fitzroy Alexander, owner of Traditional Breads, has forecasted a 50 percent growth for the company next year.

That's a lot of dough for a startup business.

"I don't think I sell breads better than the other guys," said Alexander. "I'm just creating opportunities for my employees. Every single human being wants to be a part of something and share a common goal."

In order to meet a growing demand for its products, the four-year-old business recently annexed an additional 3,000-square-foot operation on the first floor.

Alexander founded Traditional Breads in 1999 with a staff of two. The roster of employees has since grown to 25.

"Lynn offers a great environment for the entrepreneurial community, and we have to continue to be aware of their needs as they grow and expand," said Mayor Edward J. Clancy, upon learning of the company's success and its optimistic business forecast. "We must keep small businesses here in the city."

Traditional Breads bakes an array of products, selling to companies such as Stop & Shop, BJ's Wholesale Club and Market Basket. The ever-expanding product line includes sandwich and dinner rolls, loaves, ciabattas, foccacias, boules, breadsticks and custom breads.

Each product is made wit all-natural ingredients and no preservatives. The company utilizes a special blast-freezing procedure call parbaking that allows breads to remain fresh for up to nine months when refrigerated.

"If you are a restaurant owner, parbaking gives you flexibility. It's fool proof," said Alexander.

The proud owner has continued to seek innovation form within the company and from the outside. "I'm always trying out new recipes," he said. "I go to Europe a few times a year to sample the new tastes and look at the new equipment."

A Medford resident, Alexander immigrated to the Boston area from Grenada in 1980 when he was 17. He spent his first five years in the U.S. living in a commune in Cambridge where members practiced transcendental meditation and ran a bakery to support their lifestyle.

Alexander began working at the bakery as a dishwasher and over a five-year period of promotions and hard work, learned what it took to be successful in the baking industry.

At 22, he left the commune and with the support of 15 partners started a new bakery called Signature Breads. The company grew to a staff of 300 under Alexander's watch. The business was sold to Hazelwood Farms in 1998 and is currently owned by Pillsbury.

Alexander wanted to keep on baking and used funds from Signature's sale to start his own bakery a year later.

The entrepreneur has found that running Traditional Breads is a different experience now that he is sole owner. "This company can grow at its own pace," he said. "There's no pressure. You can come in here and have fun because there are no partners."

Alexander believes his success lies in his employees, and insists they are a part of his family. Like himself, most of them were not born in the U.S.

"They understand that they have to do whatever it takes to be successful, because they always have a family to feed back home (in their native country)," he said.

"My employees are the ones who make the business happen. You need a product, but you also need people who believe in your product."

Hello Dasilva, production manager at Traditional Breads, has been working with Alexander for 18 years. "The business is like a family," he said. "We come in here and see the same faces everyday. We laugh and sometimes make mistakes. We work and play together. When you love what you are doing you will always do better.