Lontra Welcomes Dr Phillip Cartwright As Chairman

Lontra has announced Dr Phillip Cartwright as the new Chairman of Lontra, taking the helm of their digital productivity plans and high-quality manufacturing.

Dr Cartwright is currently a non-executive director with Mace and Reds10. He was previously executive Chairman of the 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 £-bn 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 David 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 positioned as a quality manufacturer, providing clean-tech engineering and digital services. They have recently been awarded a grant of £1.58m 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.

Government Minister for Business and Industry, Nadhim Zahawi has said: “As we build back better from the coronavirus pandemic, it’s fantastic to see companies like Lontra striding forwards and continuing to innovate, developing products that are in demand both on UK soil and overseas.”

The next phase of SCR’s investment will see Lontra building a “smart” factory in Sheffield, which will provide several hundred new manufacturing, engineering, research and technical support jobs, adding Lontra to their already impressive manufacturing industry, which remains the largest industry in the region and contributes to over 13.7% regional GVA.

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.”