Investment fuels growth at self storage and mobile refrigeration company
Three new vehicles and a near £500,000 site investment has brought continued growth to a rapidly-expanding self storage and mobile refrigeration business headquartered near Bristol.
First established in 2002, Container Team today employs over 25 staff under the management of new managing director Ricky Williams, who took over running the business last year, from its base in Weston-super-Mare.
The company operates under two brands – The Space Program offers secure self storage in shipping containers around seven locations in the South West and South Wales; while Team Refrigeration provides mobile freezers and chiller units in the events, hospital and hospitality sectors.
Combined turnover is nearly £4m split between the divisions, with Team Refrigeration seeing a seven-fold increase in the past five years.
To support further growth the company has opened its first indoor self-storage facility in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, next door to its container self-storage facility that has been successfully running since 2016.
There has also been investment in new vehicles to enable increased sales and operations capacity for the Team Refrigeration side of the business.
Vehicles have been supplied by Bristol-based Vanaways, which has provided Williams with a new VW Transporter Sportline and two new Ford Ranger Tremor pick-ups to help deliver mobile refrigeration units.
The new acquisitions bring total vehicle purchases to five over the past 12 months.
“It’s great to be part of Ricky’s journey as his business continues to grow,” said Gabby Bath, sales executive at Bristol-based Vanaways. “I’ve known him for many years after we worked in the vehicles trade together, so he knows he can rely on me and the team to provide honest, reliable advice as well as the best prices on the market.
“We’re all excited to see how The Space Program and Team Refrigeration develop over future years, and we’ll be here to support with vehicles whenever he needs them.”
Williams said: “The new Ranger will support our growth and allow us to deliver more of our trailers more efficiently and quickly around the country.
“We want to make sure that there’s minimal chance of customers having to wait for delivery, so reliable vehicles are vital in that respect.”
Vanaways is itself undergoing spectacular current growth, having moved into new offices in Ham Green near the M5 at Bristol early last year.
Company turnover has risen dramatically in 2023, while the business is on track to deliver sales of more than 6,000 vehicles in 2024. In June this year the company was listed at 60 on The Sunday Times Hundred list of the UK’s fastest-growing companies.
“Alongside our relationship with large businesses, our work with Container Team is a great example of what has fuelled our growth,” said Cedric Ratnasingham, general sales manager at Vanaways.
“We share an ethos with those smaller businesses who pride themselves on customer service over short-term profit, and we’re keen to support as they innovate and grow. We’re sure Ricky’s ambitions will be realised over the coming years and we’re happy to partner with him and the team on that journey.”
