THEY say that 'from small acorns, great oak trees grow' and this is what has happened for a Worcestershire catering equipment company.

Acorn Catering Equipment celebrated 25 years of trading on Friday with a lunch for 60 people including friends and staff, customers and suppliers.

Since it was set up in 1979 by Derrick and Lea Martin, the Droitwich firm has grown into a £1m turnover business and is the distributor for many of the leading brands of commercial kitchen equipment, including Electrolux, Falcon and Metcalfe.

Still owned and run by the family - Mr and Mrs Martin's daughter Lindsey Vernalls is company secretary and their son-in-law, Mike Vernalls, is company director - the firm has supplied many catering establishments in Worcestershire over the years.

These include the Worcester Cathedral tea rooms and Waggs Caf, at Worcester Arts Workshop, in Sansome Street, Worcester, as well as garden centres and nurseries, golf clubs, crickets clubs and leisure centres.

The company employs 12 people and runs its operations from George Baylis Road, on the Berry Hill Industrial Estate, where it has offices, a showroom and a 3,500sq ft warehouse, which holds 8,500 items of catering equipment.

"We have everything from a teaspoon to a complete kitchen!" said Mrs Vernalls.

"Over the last 25 years, we have grown into the leading locally situated company covering every aspect of supply, service and maintenance of commercial catering equipment."

She said the company prided itself on personal service, reliability and integrity.

"Our loyal customer base shows the care we put into our approach to customer service," said Mrs Vernalls, adding the company was a member of the Catering Equipment Distributors Association.

One of the major changes over the years has been to take on qualified service engineers.

"Through our fully equipped service department we are able to carry out repairs, maintenance, service and installation of commercial catering equipment.

"Our engineers are all holders of the relevant certification and their training is regularly updated in line with current regulations."

The firm also provides a free planning service for new kitchen designs or refurbishments and, if required, can also supply ancillary products such as flooring and tiles.

"In fact, we can deliver the whole package - complete design, supply and installation for a whole project!" said Mrs Vernalls.