AFC Fylde and the AFC Fylde Community Foundation are proud to announce an extension to their partnership with Kepak, home of the national Rustlers brand based here in Kirkham.

 

Employing hundreds of people from the local area, Kepak are a vital part of the local community and have grown exponentially since our partnership started 16 years ago. Both AFC Fylde and Kepak looked a lot different then, compared to now, with meteoric success for both parties in recent years.

Production Director at Kepak’s Kirkham manufacturing site, James Grimston spoke recently to AFC Fylde:

He said: “We are proud to renew the partnership between AFC Fylde and Kepak, the home of Rustlers, for another year. This partnership has now been in place for 16 years and this period has seen both the Rustlers brand, AFC Fylde and its Community Foundation go from strength to strength. Having originally sponsored AFC Fylde as a small club many years ago to now be working with a club on the brink of the football league is something our business is proud to be a part of.”

Kepak are official partners of both the football club itself and our fantastic Community Foundation. James highlighted the importance of both parts of the sponsorship agreement, adding: 

“Alongside the on-field success of the team our business is equally as proud of the work we have done with the AFC Fylde Community Foundation, hosting various events like our community sports and wellbeing days and BTEC business workshops. As a successful international business one of our key values is to give back to our local area, both to support our hundreds of employees who live locally and to provide support for all those in the surrounding areas.”

This year has presented businesses of all sizes with some real challenges. Speaking about the effect Covid-19 has had on the business, James gave us further insight, saying:

“The recent pandemic has been a challenging time for everyone and our business has been no different. Over the recent months we have worked tirelessly to ensure above all else the safety of our people. From day one a dedicated “COVID-19” team was put in place to assess and roll out the relevant safety measures across our factory and this team remains in place now to continually assess and improve these measures. We are very thankful that so far this has resulted in no confirmed cases or outbreaks at our site, but we remain vigilant and focussed on ensuring we have the best possible safety measures in place.”

AFC Fylde Commercial Manager, Jonathan Eighteen is proud to be working with Kepak for a further 12 months. Following the extension of a valued partner, Jonathan told afcfylde.co.uk: “We have a very strong working relationship with Kepak and have always been incredibly proud of the shared values we have. The work that the Community Foundation undertakes every day is fantastic and Kepak compliments that with their continued support. I look forward to working with James and the team at Kepak throughout next season and beyond.”

AFC Fylde’s newly updated first team kit will feature Kepak’s brand ‘Rustlers’ as sleeve sponsor for a further season.

James’ final comment was on the branding that fans can expect to see on the sleeves next season, saying: “Our team recently unveiled a new design for the Rustlers brand, which will again be appearing as a sleeve sponsor for the 2020/2021 season, we’re excited to see it on the shirt in its new format.”

For more information on Kepak, visit www.kepak.com