About Us

Gopak Ltd (formerly known as P S Le Fleming Shepherd Ltd) started out in 1947 as a one man operation manufacturing innovative pieces of furniture from a small workshop in Mayfield, East Sussex.

These items were primarily sold through retailers such as Heal's of London and Libertys. In the early 1960s, a heavy plywood table was designed with steel folding legs which was sold to schools in the south of England. When the responsibility of preparing dining halls for lunch was passed from the school caretaker to the catering staff a couple of years later, the need for a lightweight folding table was identified.

Peter Le Fleming Shepherd, the founder of Gopak Ltd, designed a lightweight folding table based on the principals of the earlier version, using aluminium with the same simple but extremely effective folding mechanism. Peter was always looking to manufacture innovative products and he often recalls his first attempt at making a vacuum formed table top using limited resources and somewhat unconventional methods.

Having moved to Harbledown near Canterbury, the company relocated to a beach side location in Hythe in 1973, where we remain to this day.

35 years on and we are still manufacturing folding tables. We now have a workforce of 46 – a far cry from the humble beginnings of Mayfield. Many of our team achieve remarkable lengths of service and we are proud and grateful for this level of loyalty and commitment. The original design has been improved and enhanced over the years to enable us to produce products using the latest techniques and technology.

There are nearly 4000 different permutations of tables and benches that you can purchase from Gopak Ltd which is why the majority of products are manufactured to order. We also market other items of furniture sourced from reputable UK manufacturers and distributors, the sales of which contribute an increasing proportion of our turnover.

Our Research & Development department is constantly working on new projects and products to ensure we take the company forward using the latest techniques. We continue to take very seriously our commitment to current legislation including Health and Safety along with ensuring we minimise and strive to reduce our Environmental Impact. Gopak Ltd achieved certification for Quality Procedures currently known as IS9001:2000 in November 1988. In December 2002 we were awarded Investor in People status and in May 2009 were accredited for ISO14001:2004 Environmental Management.

In 2006 we purchased the Ultralight Staging System, and are now manufacturing this staging alongside the folding tables.

We are proud to be a British manufacturer with a loyal and dedicated workforce. Honesty and integrity continues to be our company ethos and we strive to provide the best possible buying experience for our diverse customer base.

Our clients include: Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation, Consortium for Purchasing & Distribution, Scotland Excel, Eastern Shires Purchasing Organsation, Findel Education, National Trust, HM Prison Service, Motorsports Vision, BBC, Pinewood Studios, along with hundreds if not thousands of small organisations - churches, village halls, youth groups, businesses UK wide.