Gillingham Football Club is excited to welcome Hochiki Europe as its new Rainham End Sponsor. The agreement will see the Rainham End at Priestfield Stadium renamed ‘The Rainham End in partnership with Hochiki’ until the end of the 2026/27 season.
Hochiki, whose European head office and manufacturing plant was established over 30 years ago in Gillingham, have been world class leaders in the production of commercial fire detection and emergency lighting products since being founded in Tokyo, Japan in 1918.
Gillingham was chosen for the site of the European factory because of the link between Will Adams and Japan. Will Adams was a 16th century navigator, born in Gillingham in 1564. He was the first European to establish a trade route between England and Japan.
The company is now spread across three sites in the south east region of Medway, after they recently announced a multi-million pound investment into a new 24,000sq ft (about four times the area of a basketball court) shipping and warehousing hub in Chatham. The new facility has the capacity to increase from 480 to 2,450 pallets with picking times reduced by more than half, from 7 minutes per line to 3 minutes per line ensuring a continued and efficient supply of the highest quality production of life safety devices and systems.
Managing Director for The Gills, Joe Comper, said “We are excited to welcome Hochiki as The Rainham End’s official partner. We have been working closely with Hochiki over the last year and they have been amazing. It’s very important for the club to have partners that value the community of Kent as much as Hochiki do. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the team there for their fantastic support and I am looking forward to watching this partnership grow.”
Shinsuke Kubo, Managing Director from Hochiki said: “Hochiki Europe has had headquarters in Gillingham for 31 years and we’re proud to continue our support of the local community. To celebrate our new partnership, Gills fans will have the chance to win a host of prizes including a VIP experience at the Millwall friendly, training ground visits and match tickets courtesy of Hochiki. Fans should keep an eye on the Gills’ social media channels to find out how to win”
This exciting partnership between Hochiki Europe and Gillingham Football Club promises a winning combination for both sides. Fans can look forward to exclusive prize giveaways while the Club gains a committed partner that values the community. Together, Hochiki Europe and Gillingham Football Club are poised to bag a screamer for the Gillingham faithful and solidify Hochiki’s place as a proud resident of the Medway region.
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