Bond film firm sets a new mission

Leyland-based Specialised Inflatable Technologies was involved behind the scenes in Daniel Craig’s latest blockbuster Spectre.

The appearance in the film which generated close to a billion dollars at the box office is another string to SIT’s bow.

The RIB boat which James Bond used to go down the Thames was made in conjunction with the firm’s sister company Marine Specialised Technology Ltd.

SIT Ltd was formed in 2008 with a small team of three – now it boasts a turnover of £2m and employ more than thirty staff.

Work is now under way to expand its premises at Moss Side Industrial Estate on Clydesdale Place.

It has been helped by a grant from the Lancashire Business Growth Fund, which has awarded the company £63,766 towards the purchase of a unit costing £300,000 with another £18,830 being spent on the construction of a mezzanine floor which will provide its with extra space, creating six jobs.

MD Chris Chadwick, who began his career with the Leyland and Birmingham Rubber Company in the late 1980s, is proud of his company’s achievements.

He said: “We design and manufacture low-pressure inflatables for the emergency services, marine, recovery, leisure, military markets and a whole host of industrial applications.

“SIT Ltd manufacture for many market sectors, so if one market recedes, be it seasonal or a downturn in the economy, we still have others to maintain the workload”.

The demand for its inflatable ResQ sleds and boats is an ever increasing one, especially given the number of storms affecting the country of late, not least the Christmas floods which brought festive misery across Cumbria, Lancashire and parts of Yorkshire.

The latest investment will allow the company to develop further and keep ahead of its competitors.

Said Chris: “It assists in the company growth/job creation/retention as well as dealing effectively with our every increasing workload.”