ACR Journal

June | July 2023 Volume 9 No.4 CHANGING FACES 38 SMI BUILDSON STRONG START TOYEAR Thermal insulation specialist Seymour Manufacturing International (SMI) has announced a number of new appointments on the back of a record- breaking start to the year. The Telford-based company, known for its Tempro thermal material, recorded its best combined January and February sales, with orders for thermal curtains, covers, liners and bespoke products from across the UK and overseas. Kirsty Murrell is now operations manager and health & safety officer, Ross Clarke has been appointed business development manager, and Chris Davies is sales manager, with particular responsibility for leading on SMI business in Ireland. Gemma Elsmore-Roberts’ accounts role has been expanded to include quality officer, and Matt Weaver has been appointed warehouse engineer. SMI managing director Jill Seymour said: “This is going to be an important year for the company as we expand our range with innovative new products. My husband Brian, our chairman and founder, is constantly working on many R&D projects and is hopeful some will be launched before the end of the year. We have an incredibly loyal and hard-working team here who create the family atmosphere which we are proud to have always retained. I’m incredibly grateful to all of them for their support.” www.seymour-mi.com PAUL BENNELL, PRESIDENT, COLD CHAIN FEDERATION Paul Bennell , managing director of Samworth Brothers Supply Chain, is the new president of the Cold Chain Federation (CCF). He succeeds Tim Moran who had been in the role for seven years and oversaw the federation’s leadership change, strategic review and rebrand. Bennell said: “Our industry is facing a challenging time and my priorities include supporting our industry in navigating inflationary pressures while also ensuring the cold chain voice is heard by politicians and policy makers on the issues that affect our operations. “Building on the federation’s ongoing programme of work supporting operators on the journey towards low and zero carbon operations is also high on my agenda, and I’m looking forward to spreading the message that the cold chain is a great and varied industry to work in, today and for the future.” Shane Brennan, chief executive of the CCF, said: “Paul embodies the forward-thinking, knowledgeable and skilful approach that makes the UK’s cold chain so impressive. He has been a major asset to the federation’s board and I am very much looking forward to working with him as he leads the Cold Chain Federation into the future.” https://www.coldchainfederation.org.uk/ NIGEL UPSON, CALUM MACPHEE, DK HEAT RECOVERY A founding member of a leading UK heat recovery business has rejoined the company after a decade. Nigel Upson has returned to East Yorkshire-based DK Heat Recovery on his retirement from poultry processor Soanes Poultry, where he was managing director. He founded DK Heat Recovery along with colleague David Haughton in 2012 and says he is excited to be rejoining the growing business. In addition, the company has recruited time-served refrigeration service engineer Calum MacPhee as engineering manager to support the expansion. He said: "There's never been a better time to install a heat recovery system that helps businesses to save money whilst reducing carbon footprint and I'm looking forward to raising awareness of the benefits of heat recovery and helping to drive the business forward. "As opposed to heat pumps, heat recovery doesn't need energy to run the system. It utilises the waste heat from the discharge gas, is easy to fit, simple to use and cost-efficient to maintain as it has no moving parts." Nigel Upson added: "Calum's skillset complements the rest of the team and we're looking forward to his contribution as sustainability and cost savings move further up business's agendas for change and demand for heat recovery grows." Based in Beverley, East Yorkshire, with a satellite office in Peterborough, DK Heat Recovery is the sole UK agent of DK Kaelteanlagen systems and is supported by a network of installers and refrigeration engineers nationwide. Over the last decade, it has installed heat recovery systems for food manufacturers, supermarkets, farm shops, butchers, and garden centres. https://dkheatrecovery.co.uk/ Nigel Upson CalumMacPhee