Lord Shuttleworth Visits CoolKit

Lord-Lieutenant of Lancashire Lord Shuttleworth has visited Burnley-based refrigerated vehicle specialist CoolKit Ltd in respect of the company’s exceptional growth and contribution to the local economy.

Lord Shuttleworth was appointed Lord-Lieutenant of Lancashire in 1997 and has served as chairman of the Association of Lord-Lieutenants since 2008. He was a Member of the Council of the Duchy of Lancaster from 1998-2014 and served as Chairman of the Council from January 2006 until December 2014. He was made a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) in the 2011 New Year Honours, in addition to being a Knight of St John (KJStJ).

In June 2016 he was appointed by The Queen as a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.

His visit to CoolKit was to inspect the company’s new 45,000 sq ft premises on a 2.5 acre site in Burnley.

The new facilities were opened following the company’s average 40% year-on-year growth over the last six years. Its workforce has also grown by more than 50% in the last twelve months to 75 employees.

Lord Shuttleworth was welcomed to the facilities by a delegation including local council members, CoolKit customers and suppliers and local business media. Managing director Rupert Gatty provided a short presentation outlining CoolKit’s growth journey from just 4 employees in 2005 to its current 75 employees and projected £10 million turnover for 2016. He also gave details of the company’s future growth plans and collaborations with educational institutions to ensure potential employees in the local area have the skills and expertise to support CoolKit and other local businesses.

The delegates were then taken on a tour of the facilities, following the production line, from materials in, through to completed product. Lord Shuttleworth showed great interest in the modern techniques CoolKit uses to ensure the highest level of insulation with high payloads. CoolKit managing director Rupert Gatty said: “It was a great honour to welcome Lord Shuttleworth today and provide him with a tour of the facilities. Recent years have been exceptional for CoolKit and so we were especially pleased to receive recognition of the success of the entire team from such a high level.”