IT MIGHT have a name straight out of Loony Tunes, but ACME Refrigeration is deadly serious about business.

The ACME name, immortalised in the Warner Bros Roadrunner cartoons, comes from a Greek word meaning pinnacle of excellence.

And as sales manager Graham Morris is quick to point out: "ACME is the first name you will find in a telephone book and it is one people never forget."

It certainly doesn't seem to have held the business back. The Blackburn-based company specialises in the service, supply and installation of refrigeration and air conditioning equipment and claims to be the largest of its kind in the North of England.

And with the opening of a new showroom for all types of professional catering equipment, ACME now provides a one-stop-shop service for hotels, restaurants and pubs.

The company was founded in 1965 and originally concentrated on chest freezers for the domestic market. It gradually began to focus on commercial refrigeration and over the past four years has added air conditioning systems to its portfolio of services.

It is part of the London-based Pentland Group which owns the fashion brands Berghaus, Ellesse, KangaROOS, Kickers, Lacoste, Mitre, Red or Dead, Speedo and Ted Baker.

ACME now employs more than 100 people from its base at the Whitebirk Industrial Estate and its North East depot at County Durham. It operates throughout the North of England, from the Scottish borders down to the Midlands.

Graham said the company was totally committed to delivering a quality service and enjoyed Investors in People status. Unusually for a company of its size, ACME takes on eight apprentices every year to ensure a constant supply of skilled engineers.

Its client base includes many of the major breweries and pub companies such as Whitbreads, Scottish and Newcastle, Enterprise Inns and Daniel Thwaites.

Graham Morris said the opening of the new showroom marked the company's final stage in offering a complete service to the licensed trade. The company has invested around £100,000 in the new venture which is ideally situated immediately off the dual carriageway.

"It is a superb location, close to the M65 motorway which is within easy reach of businesses throughout the North West," said Graham. "When Lamps and Lighting relocated to Burnley, we immediately recognised its potential and moved in straight away."

The showroom has been extensively refurbished over two floors and carries around 3,000 of kitchen equipment ranging from fryers and fridges to cookers and cutlery.

"Our aim is to supply everything that the catering and licensed trade needs," added Graham.