Stone-based logistics firm Drac Group has been announced as the main sponsor of this year’s Stone Food & Drink Festival.
The firm, which started in 2009 with three staff working from an office in Stone High Street, has seen dramatic expansion – opening offices in Manchester and Falkirk in 2015. It moved into its HQ – a 32,000 sq ft warehouse on Stone Business Park in 2021, where it currently employs 33 staff. And the growth is ongoing; in October 2022, Drac Group acquired Caledonian Logistics – taking on four warehouses, 110 trailers and 160 staff.
However, the firm’s heart remains very much in Stone, and its local links are central to CEO Alex Hayes’ decision to support the festival:
“We’ve enjoyed the Stone Food & Drink Festival as visitors for many years, and when the opportunity to take lead sponsorship came up it seemed like a natural fit. We look forward to working alongside the festival team to promote Stone businesses alongside food and drink exhibitors, and to entertaining our guests over the ‘big weekend’ in July.”
The festival, which attracts thousands of visitors to Stone each year, will take place at Kibblestone Scot Camp just 1.5 miles north of the town centre, while development work takes place on its usual Westbridge Park site. With a shuttle bus service and a packed programme of events planned for the town centre throughout festival week, the goal of the event remains to help bring visitors – and their revenue – into Stone for the benefit of local businesses. Chairman of the non-for-profit event, Richard Stevens, says:
“We’re delighted to have Drac Group on board as main sponsor. The firm is a real local success story and it’s fantastic that they share our passion for promoting Stone and its businesses. As a not-for-profit CIC, we rely heavily on the support of local businesses to help cover the significant costs associated with running the event. We look forward to working with Drac Group in the run-up to what we believe will be another bumper festival.”
The 2023 Stone Food & Drink Festival will take place on Saturday 15th & Sunday 16th July. Advance early bird tickets are available online at www.stonefooddrink.org.uk
