Acme is a company that specialises in commercial services, most specifically commercial kitchens, air conditioning and ventilation, refrigeration and cooling, and support and compliance. Through constant development, trying to offer their customers the best of the best, they are now one of the UK’s industry leaders. With 50 years of heritage, Acme has grown to be a well-established brand, with hundreds of renowned clients that rely on their services. You may even know some of them – JD Sports, Blackpool Zoo, Subway, BMW, Argos, and more! However, just like any other business, Acme had to start somewhere. Find below a brief timeline from the beginning of Acme to now.
Acme Co-Founders – Jim Hurley and Peter Hendricks
Between 1950 and 1964, Jim Hurley and Peter Hendricks joined together to start a business together. Both of them worked in Blackburn, with separate installing and maintaining refrigeration businesses. Although at the time they were competing with one another, with the same sort of businesses in the same area, they did help each other out on larger projects. In the 60s, refrigeration equipment was a lot bulkier and heavier than what it is today and thus needed two people for installation. In 1964 they decided to work together, firstly establishing ‘H&H Refrigeration’, and then trading as Acme in 1965.
Starting to Grow as a Company and The Chest Freezer Revolution
When the business was up and running, Acme installed refrigeration equipment for any local business that needed to keep their products cold, predominantly butchers, bakers, and market stalls. Cold rooms and serve-over counters were their most popular projects, until The Chest Freezer revolution in the 60s. Customers no longer needed to buy fresh produce every week, instead, they could freeze items and keep them for longer. The Chest Freezer became popular both commercially and domestically. As Acme was one of the largest suppliers in Blackburn, they further opened a shop to sell freezers in person.
As the demand for freezers began to grow and grow, Acme grew along with it too. From working in a ‘shed’ in Mill Hill, Blackburn, they continued to move to larger units until they stayed at Whitebirk Industrial Estate.
First Contract
In 1969, Acme started working with a well-known company, Daniel Thwaites. This contract signified Acme’s move in the brewery trade, supplying cellar cooling and bar and catering equipment.
Between 1970 and 1990, the pub and brewery industry thrived, which became Acme’s centre of business. Supplying and installing a range of refrigeration and cooking equipment, which was the start of their catering department.
Introducing Air Conditioning
Air conditioning started with the wealthy, particularly with luxury cars and homes. Acme accidentally fell into AC car maintenance, until the car market boomed, and garages started to become more skilled. Throughout the 1980-90s, Acme continued to install air conditioning systems in businesses and retail, building a portfolio for today.
1974
Acme hired its first service manager, Alan Meats, who stayed with the business up until his retirement in 2018.
They also struck another contract with The Iraq Blood, whereby they manufactured refrigerated blood banks for hospitals.
The Establishment of Their Catering Department
In 1981 Acme began its catering department, as the demand for catering equipment grew with the public wanting to eat and drink out more. With this development, Acme introduced two new staff members, Graham Morris their first catering engineer and Andy Threlfall their first gas-qualified engineer. Threlfall received Acme’s first NICEIC & BSI/ISO qualifications, one of the first steps to becoming the 24/7/365 award-winning department that it now is.
1983
Acme launched its rental programme for the pub trade in 1983.
The Pentland Group Investment
In 1984, The Pentland Group decided to invest in Acme to help it grow even further. Pentland is now a £3.2bn turnover investment company, accountable for brands such as Berghaus and Speedo. The Pentland Group enabled Acme to become a nationwide company, allowing them to hold a larger amount of stock and received bigger shipments.
Moving from an Equipment Supply House to a Catering Project Partner
Casual dining and Gastro pubs started to appear in 1989-2005, which lead to new opportunities for Acme. Acme transitioned from an equipment supply house to a catering project partner.
Beginning of the 2000s
In the 2000s, Acme provided to the public sector including schools, hospitals, and public and private companies.
A bit later in 2004, Acme released their new business management system, ‘Siclops’. This was Acme’s first developed IT infrastructure that enabled them to automate a lot of manual processes. The company later moved to Aeromark in 2017, which is one of the UK’s best service management IT platforms.
Following that, Acme expanded to the North East in 2005, serving nationwide in the Scottish Mainland.
Late 2000’s
In 2014 Acme changed its name to The Acme Facilities Group, as it had grown into a multi-company group since it started in 1950.
Acme has continued to develop as a business, acquiring more and more companies along the way to grow its business opportunities even further.
