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About us

How it all started

A young designer, fresh from service in the Navy, started turning his clever ideas into reality in a garden shed in the quiet village of Mayfield, East Sussex in the late 1940s.. Peter Le Fleming Shepherd (1922 – 2018), an innovator for his entire life, developed an enthusiasm for creating furniture which could fold, early on in his career.

Initially, Peter made innovative small pieces of furniture that were sold primarily through high-end retailers such as Heal’s and Liberty of London. In the early 1960’s he made a significant breakthrough when he designed a heavy plywood folding table with a pin leg. Initially, this was sold to primary and secondary schools in the south of England for their dining halls.

The table was constructed using unique techniques that negated the need for screws, fixings or welding. These processes remain to this day, a foundation on which we base our manufacturing techniques, as we continue to sensitively embrace our environmental responsibilities and create a clean and safe workplace for all.

A lightweight version of the original table followed. This was triggered by a change in responsibilities within schools. The setting up of the lunchtime service had traditionally been undertaken by the school caretaker. However, in the early 1960s, this responsibility moved to the catering staff who required furniture that was lightweight and portable. The Gopak aluminium framed folding table was met with much enthusiasm. The tables were easy to carry, simple to fold and unfold and could therefore be quickly deployed in the school hall, turning the space into a dining room with minimum effort and limited time and then easily cleared away after lunch for the next school activity.

This was a turning point for the company, as this innovative and iconic design became the go-to folding table for schools and community organisations nationwide, and from there, the Gopak brand became a household name.

Hythe has become our home

Hythe has become our homeWhen a newly built industrial unit in the seaside town of Hythe, Kent, became available in 1973, the company, now under the leadership of Managing Director Adam Wells, moved in its entirety from a collection of ram-shackled rooms in a large private house just outside Canterbury, to a purpose-built single story unit. This move to Hythe enabled the manufacturing processes to be streamlined as demand for the lightweight folding table greatly increased.

For the last 50 years, the business has operated out of Range Road, Hythe. Just a few yards from Fisherman’s Beach and the busy Strait of Dover which forms part of the English Channel. Here we can enjoy fresh sea air and far-reaching views across to France and around the bay to Dungeness.

It’s certainly not your standard location to find a manufacturing company.

Our premises have expanded ten-fold over the years, with the acquisition of several neighbouring properties. This has included the redevelopment and improvement of the company’s existing site, with extensive construction and extensions, plus the development of adjacent land. As the company has grown in turnover, we have been able to increase our manufacturing space and offices to ensure we can work effectively and efficiently, not only making our ever-increasing range of furniture but also servicing our customer’s requirements and expectations.

What We Do

If there are three words that sum up Gopak these are simply LIGHTWEIGHT.. ALUMINIUM.. FOLDING.

Folding tables with the same iconic twin-leg design that was conceived in the 1960s continue to be the mainstay of our manufacturing operations. But it is no longer only folding tables that leave our factory door.

Stacking benches complement our folding tables, making cost-effective and efficient seating for school dining halls and youth organisations. Trolleys have been specifically designed to store and transport folding tables, making them a great accessory for busy organisations that put up and take down tables on a daily basis.

Acquiring the design and goodwill for a lightweight staging system in 2006, known as “Ultralight”, we have significantly grown and developed this product range, introducing improvements to the design and construction of the staging components.

Adding performance staging to our portfolio has created opportunities to promote this clever staging solution to markets not only in the UK but also further afield.

The beauty of this stage is its lightness of weight and simplicity of assembly and disassembly. Constructed from aluminium like all other Gopak products, the folding stage is ideal for any organisation needing a good quality, easy-to-use temporary stage that takes up minimum space for storage.

Having made furniture that folds for the last five decades, a new manufacturing technique was introduced in 2011 allowing the Gopak team to offer a more diverse range of furniture, that can still be shipped flat pack but once assembled becomes a fixed leg product. Called Enviro because of its great environmental credentials and recyclable attributes, we offer a vast array of choices within this range of tables and benches to appeal to an ever-broadening marketplace, including education, business and events for both inside and outdoor use. From Early Years to further education and beyond, you will find an Enviro product to meet your needs.

Manufacturing the vast majority of items to order, enables us to offer all ranges of tables and benches in an unrivalled choice of colour options and sizes. We work on short lead times and hold a small number of tables in stock for next day. We always do our best not to disappoint any customers and aim to despatch orders as quickly as possible.

The Gopak timeline

Peter Le Fleming Shepherd started making furniture in a shed in Mayfield, East Sussex in 1947

1954 P S Le Shepherd Limited was incorporated

1955 The company relocated to Canterbury, Kent

1959 A heavy folding table with a steel pin leg was designed
1966 The first lightweight folding tables were made and sold to schools

1968 The company name was changed to Gopak Limited

1972 John Fieldwick was appointed Managing Director

1973 The company relocated to the coastal town of Hythe Kent
1977 The premises were extended as sales grew

1978 Agreements were established to supply Local Authorities throughout the UK
1988 Achieved ISO9001 for Quality Management System accreditation

1990Complementary UK-sourced furniture was added to our range

1993 A significant design update was introduced making the Contour folding table and bench range the go-to furniture for school dining
1994 Andrew Fieldwick joined the company as Managing Director Designate

1995 A polyurethane-edged folding table launched and named Premier

1996 The development of table storage trolleys was completed

1998 An alternative folding mechanism called posi-lock was designed

2000 Demolished original unit purchased in 1973 and redeveloped to significantly increase m²

2002 Achieved Investors in People accreditation

2003 John Fieldwick retired and his son Andrew took over the role of Managing Director
2006 Gopak acquired the goodwill of Ultralight Staging Systems

2010 Purchased and demolished a neighbouring unit to create a large extension to our existing site

2011 Unit 1 was completed to accommodate the new Enviro framing process and house two automated machine centres

2013 Following a year of development and testing an ERP system was implemented

2014 A celebration of our 60th birthday was held for all staff at Port Lympne Wild Animal Park
2017 An automated robot was installed to manipulate and produce table legs

2020 The COVID-19 pandemic struck and the company worked hard to retain all staff and offer support during this difficult period

2023 Now fully operating exceeding pre-pandemic levels, with a team of 37 employees

2024 This year we celebrate 70 years since our incorporation

2024 Along with celebrating 70 years of Gopak, Willowbrook Education Group acquired the shareholding of Gopak and we are now proud to be part of the Willowbrook Family.

Our core values

Sustainability

Even when we were a start-up business in the 1950s, the ethos and philosophy of the company was to make furniture that was built to last, provide value for money and answered the need for space-saving solutions. Nothing has changed decades on.

With the consistent and steady growth of the business, through the development of innovative products and continual investment, we have been able to achieve our goal of manufacturing excellence. From the outset, we have quietly embraced sustainability and have been practising, without realising it, circularity for years. (The term didn’t exist in 1954!)

By acting responsibly, making the right choices during product development and sensible decisions regarding production and operational processes, we have been able to provide positive outcomes for our customers, our employees and the wider community. Through our continuous improvement programme, we have implemented Quality, Environment and Social Responsibility systems and policies, with QMS and EMS being accredited to the relevant standard.

Waste Management

It is nearly impossible to make something without there being an element of waste somewhere in the production cycle. Strict recycling waste streams have been adopted for a large proportion of our waste and we have successfully removed any instances of waste going to landfill. Packaging resulting from goods inward which includes cardboard and polythene, both of which are baled for transit are sent for recycling. Clean aluminium off-cuts are collected in a specific skip which is accumulated and then sent for recycling. All waste wood (pallets that cannot be recycled) is collated and collected by a wood recycling scheme. Changing the method for wood recycling has reduced the number of skips used for general waste dramatically which is collected by a waste carrier who guarantees zero waste to landfill.

For many years our staff drinks dispensing machine only issued plastic cups. Schemes for the recycling of plastic cups have come and gone illustrating the fragility of the UK’s commitment to recycling. As soon as we were able, we switched to paper cups and these were sent for recycling through the National Cup Recycling Scheme. Unfortunately, this scheme failed and is no longer available. In 2023 we switched to a drinks vending machine which can dispense into your own cup. A cold water dispenser has also been provided to allow staff to fill up their own reusable water bottles. Since the introduction of the new drinks dispenser, our cup waste has reduced dramatically.

Energy Savings

Minimising our carbon footprint is embedded in our day-to-day practices.

These include but are not limited to:
• Deliveries made using a carrier network leading to geographical delivery efficiencies along with negating the need for a fleet of own
vehicles.
• Installation of LED lighting across our premises reducing both electricity usage and cost.
• Investment in solar photovoltaics (PV) panels was first undertaken in 2012 and a further 250 panels were installed in July 2022 –
leading to a considerable reduction in both electricity usage and cost. (47% energy independence in summer months – 30% reduction
in KwH usage.
• A companywide “turn off the lights” policy.
• 95% of employees live locally with no one travelling further than 15 miles to work.
• The Bike2Work scheme is available to everyone to encourage employees to cycle to work.
• All correspondence and communication conducted electronically.
• Reduction in travel costs and emissions by sales personnel working remotely

Goals & Objectives

• Communicate goals and targets externally through our Environmental Policy.
• Measure progress and successes.
• Improve existing processes and practices by reporting energy usage to the whole team for greater visibility.
• Champion employee engagement and empowerment.
• Identify and build a sustainability strategy that fits our business.

In Conclusion

Gopak is already well into its sustainable journey having successfully completed infrastructure upgrades. We will continue our commitment to identify and deliver operational efficiencies, encourage changes in employee behaviours and measure and communicate energy usage including wastage and savings. Our aim is to continue to produce products that have a long shelf life, are designed and made using recycled content, are packaged using packaging with a minimum 30% recycled content while operating clean manufacturing processes.

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