Top dealers are cooking on gas

A SHAW firm has been named the top dealer in Britain by catering equipment manufacturer Rational.

Normanton Catering Equipment Technicians Ltd, which has consistently been placed among the leading distributors, has been named leading service partner from 26 accredited partners throughout the country by the Germany firm.

Duncan Normanton admitted to being totally surprised when the business, set up by his father Malcolm in 1994, was announced as the winner at a dealer event in Luton.

The previous evening, Duncan, from Shaw, had won a 10-pin bowling competition among all the partners and was still basking in that achievement when the real accolade was awarded.

He said: “We have always been in the leading group of service partners but this is the first time we have come out on top. It is a tribute to everyone associated with the business.”

His father, Malcolm, also from Shaw, spends less time at the office these days, but his pride in the award was evident on the day I visited the company headquarters in Crompton Street.

Very much a family business — Duncan’s wife Lisa is the company secretary and heads the firm’s administration team — Normanton Catering Equipment Technicians services Rational equipment all over the north of England.

They also travel further afield when required and were at Lord’s cricket ground last week. In addition to servicing the specialist ovens, the firm — which employs four technical engineers — repairs, installs and reconditions Rational ovens.

Duncan has this month returned from a visit to the company headquarters in Landsburg, Bavaria, during which Normanton was named the first service partner to be offered a contract for a new Rational product, a vario cooking centre.

This is an innovative oven which steams and roasts and is expected to become very popular in the catering industry.