Space Catering Equipment has stars in its eyes
A Gloucester-based company, which has just completed a major contract designing and supplying kitchens for Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall of River Cottage, has been awarded ‘Beacon’ status, thus joining an elite group of high achieving companies operating in the South West.
Space Catering Equipment has become one of nearly 200 companies recognised by Beacon, an initiative that singles out exceptional achievement in areas such as economic performance and growth, a positive company culture, and a general passion within the organisation.
The company’s turnover has grown to £8.5 million since forming in 2000 and is now recognised nationally as one of the leading players in the field of commercial kitchen and restaurant equipment. The service is design-led with an in-house department that uses cutting-edge software capable of creating 3D visuals as well as detailed 2D plans. The company’s team of project managers and engineers then bring these designs to life, working closely with the client’s contractors to create high quality catering environments.
Space’s win of the River Cottage contract is a coup for the company. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s team has just relocated to Park Farm near Axminster in Devon and the beautiful site is being restored to its former glory as a productive, working farm, with organic livestock, traditional vegetable gardens and fruit orchards.
As well as filming much of the new Channel 4 television series on site, River Cottage is running a huge number of courses and events, where visitors can learn the River Cottage approach to everything from running a small holding to making jam, from building a bread oven to curing salami. The new kitchen is at the heart of the operation and serves both as a demonstration area as well as a working production kitchen.
Mike Mellor, managing director of Space Catering Equipment, commented: “An unusual project like this in the South West of England is right up our street. We really support the River Cottage philosophy and are delighted to have been involved with helping to create such a superb facility.”
2007 promises to be another exciting year for Space with a move to larger premises scheduled for April and over three million pounds worth of business already on the order books for catering projects as diverse as a new Dobbies Garden Centre in Dunfermline to Shakespeare’s New Globe theatre on London’s Bankside.
Sue Baker, director of Beacon South West, said: “Space Catering Equipment is a shining example of a dynamic business that is spearheading growth. The region has a wealth of exciting companies that are a great example to others and I congratulate them on this recent project.”
Beacon South West, a South West Regional Development Agency initiative that has been running for two years, identifies, recognises and brings together the South West’s leading, high-growth companies to share best practice and ideas to boost the region’s economy.
