A concrete mixing company in Gloucestershire is to forge ahead with expansion plans after announcing the appointment of a new manager and investment in its fleet of vehicles.
Cullimore Mix, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, has hired Karl Friston to help oversee the next stage of the company’s development which includes opening a new mixing plant at a site near Tewkesbury.
The concrete mixing arm of the Cullimore Group of Companies already operates two plants near Gloucester and Swindon.
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A completion date for the new plant has not been set with delays arising from the Covid-19 pandemic slowing progress, though the company hopes to announce when it will become operational in the near future.
Commenting on his new role, Mr Friston said: “I’m delighted to be joining Cullimore’s at such an exciting time in the company’s development.
“I have been inspired by the fact that it is still a family-run business, a rarity in our industry, and the connection it has had with the local communities.
“Though Cullimore’s has developed and expanded throughout the past 50 years, it has always retained its Gloucestershire identity, which is something I am proud to be a part of for the future.
“I’m looking forward to helping Cullimore Mix continue to grow as we come out of the Covid-19 period.”
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The company has also added a new concrete mixing truck, which has been named after a character from a Charles Dickens book, in keeping with a long-standing company tradition.
Cullimore vehicles first bore Dickensian characters names during the Second World War, when shortages meant the company’s lorries couldn’t be identified by their distinctive green paint scheme.
The new addition to its fleet has been christened William Swidger, after a university caretaker from Dickens’ 1848 Christmas novella The Haunted Man.
Welcoming Mr Friston and the new firm's new piece of kit, managing director of the Cullimore Group of Companies Moreton Cullimore said the investments the business had made represented the "great expectations" it has for its future.
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Mr Cullimore said: “It has been a testing time for businesses in all sectors, but I am proud of my team who have kept Cullimore Mix going strongly.
“With Karl bringing his experience and knowledge to our firm, I am positive that we will have a bright future ahead of us.
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“Our growth in reaching into new areas symbolises how much we have accomplished in these testing times, and Karl will have a huge part to play in developing Cullimore Mix even further.
“50 years of operation is a brilliant achievement, and it gives me great pride that we have retained many of the traditional values on which the company was built all those years ago.”
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