The company, which has operated from just outside of Edinburgh since 1996, has announced ambitious plans to move all warehouse and logistical capabilities to Northamptonshire over the coming months.
Capital Cooling chief executive Steve Steadman, who has overseen a huge transformation since taking over in November 2018 outlined the plans; “While Capital Cooling will always have roots in Scotland it was clear to see that the operational side of the business was simply in the wrong part of the country” commented chief executive Mr Steadman. “More than 80% of our deliveries take place south of the border and by shipping all goods to Edinburgh to then return them back down south for delivery was not only poor for efficiency but also for our environmental impact.”
The new operational hub, a 26,000 square foot new-build facility just off the A14 in Kettering, is in the perfect geographical location to serve the entire UK. An added benefit is its 12m height which enable the company to stock an increased volume of products. It will be home to 24,000 square feet of warehousing while a showroom and 2,000 square foot of office space will be used by the southern based members of the team.
This move also allows the business to exit the existing head office just outside of Edinburgh with the team moving to a much more modern and sustainable facility just three miles away within the industrial hub of Livingston. “The goal of this plan was to secure the long term future of the business and ensure job security for all members of the team. We have succeeded in doing so and we will continue to have our finance, sales, marketing, warranty and customer service departments all operating from our new Livingston office while anyone effected by the relocation has been offered an alternative position.”
This is just the first stage in a new and exciting chapter for Capital Cooling points out Mr Steadman, “We will be launching new ranges of innovative products for the retail, hospitality and food service sectors in the coming weeks and months while the KubePlus and KubeUltimate cold room ranges will also be growing. Furthermore, our team have been using the COVID-19 enforced lock-down to develop and introduce new CRM and service management systems which will improve communication channels and operational visibility for all of our customers.”
In order to facilitate the business’ relocation from Broxburn to Kettering, the business will now trade from a new corporate entity. However, the business will continue to operate as usual. The relocation will be staged over a number of weeks and will be a seamless process in order to ensure no disruption to the service provided to clients.
Like the majority of businesses Capital Cooling was not immune to the unprecedented circumstances surrounding the global pandemic, they introduced an element of uncertainty for the company however thanks to the ongoing support of their owners has now been turned into a positive as the company sits on stronger foundations than ever before.