Coventry manufacturing company Lontra appoints new chairman

Published by

Nicky Godding

Pioneering engineering and manufacturing company Lontra, headquartered at Napton near Coventry, has welcomed Dr Phillip Cartwright as its new Chairman of Lontra.

Phill is currently a non-executive director with Mace and Reds10 and was previously executive Chairman of the Bristol-based Airbus & Rolls-Royce JV Technology Company CFMS.

Engineering excellence has been at the core of Phill’s career with leadership roles in Laing O’Rourke and as the previous CTO with the U.K. Government’s multi £-billion Intervention in U.K. High Value Manufacturing.

Lontra’s CEO, Steve Lindsey, highlighted the work of former Chairman, Dr David Price CBE and the next steps for Lontra’s digital transformation plan:“David’s four years as Chairman of Lontra has been good and we are thankful for the leadership and transparent governance that he has provided during our successful growth period. Both David and Phill have created great working relationships with the team, as well as vital relations with The U.K. government and local enterprise partnerships which have enabled us to push forward with the development of our potential £16-million investment into high value manufacturing in The Sheffield City Region.”

Lontra is a quality manufacturer, providing clean-tech engineering and digital services. It has recently been awarded a grant of £1.58 million from the Sheffield City Region (SCR) Local Growth Fund to support development of a high-value digital services centre in the Advanced Manufacturing Park at Catcliffe.

Phase 1 of SCR’s investment begins with Lontra setting up a customer support operation in a new building at Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Park. This will enable the company to undertake major Research and Development activity with customers to support the development of new advanced products, whilst growing innovation input levels within the region and increasing vital R+D expenditure.

Lontra’s Chief Operating Officer, Euan McCulloch, comments on the impact of Lontra’s new appointment at a time where their manufacturing exports are growing in demand:

“It is a very exciting time for Lontra. Our new assembly facility is now operational, manufacturing our LP2 blower and our initial distribution partner, Industrial Air Centers, has Lontra LP blowers at their facility in Indiana. Our National Sales Representative, Roger Shultz, is working towards establishing a nationwide network of regional distributors. This is a perfect blend of Lontra providing an innovative and reliable compressed air product alongside the compressed air marketing expertise and product support of our partners, allowing us to access a $55bn dollar global market. Not only is Phill’s drive to see innovative businesses succeeding in regions of high-value manufacturing like Sheffield crucial for Lontra’s development, his leadership of The Lontra Board is the key to getting Lontra’s Anglo-American partnership delivered.”

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.