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ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: CoolKit promises an even bigger and better 2024
Date: Monday, January 22, 2024
The two-time winner of What Van?’s Converter of the Year title, CoolKit has had a year like no other in its history – and has exciting plans for the next stages of its growth journey.
Last year saw CoolKit – the UK’s largest specialist in temperature-controlled van conversions, ready-converted vans, electric van conversions and portable refrigerators – show exceptional growth, complete an overhaul of its management structure and drive success in new client sectors.
The year also dealt a blow to the business which many may never have recovered from but from which – in a display of an incomparable resilience – it is bouncing back bigger and better than before.
Staying true to its ethos of providing ‘tomorrow’s refrigerated vans today’, CoolKit continues to drive innovation and set standards within the temperature-controlled van conversion industry and is widely recognised by fleet operators, fleet funders, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and motor dealers as the industry leader.
Meeting the complex transportation challenges faced by businesses operating in the pharmaceutical, foodservice, home delivery, environmental sampling and courier sectors, CoolKit’s products maintain precise, critical temperature control in transportation – ensuring loads are always safely and compliantly transported.
In fact, judges for the What Van? Awards praised CoolKit’s range of innovative temperature-controlled products and strong customer testimonials.
Early in the year, CoolKit announced annual record sales orders of £20.1million beating its previous best year by almost 60%. In January, CoolKit’s founder Rupert Gatty completed the restructuring of his executive team promoting finance director Daniel Miller to managing director and appointing motor industry veteran, Mike Scappaticci as sales director. Rupert himself stepped up from MD to CEO.
As the order book grew, in early July, CoolKit’s main manufacturing unit at its production site in Burnley, Lancashire, was completely destroyed by a fire.
A robust and staged recovery plan was immediately executed, and production resumed the next day at a second, smaller, unit on the same industrial site. CoolKit’s 100-plus workforce rallied to get the business back up and running and focus was concentrated on completing orders already being worked on with new night and weekend shifts implemented.
Within a month, the business had completed its first batch of vehicle conversions and delivered them to a customer.
In September, the business officially opened its new premises, a 75,000 sq ft site eight miles away in nearby Blackburn which has created new and exciting possibilities for CoolKit. Initially, this will mean an increase in vehicle conversions of up to 50 vans a week – almost double its present production. It will also enable CoolKit to implement a more efficient production process and space for ready-built vans.
The size of the site will mark the dawn of CoolKit 2.0. The business will continue delivering leading innovations to serve customers’ bespoke needs and remain the sector champion as the industry strives to meet net zero.
For more information about CoolKit and how the business can help you, please visit www.coolkit.co.uk or call 0845 459 5418
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