AvantiGas sponsor balloonist to fly the flag for company across the UK
Chesterfield Champions, AvantiGas, are set to sponsor their own balloonist and gas engineer Steve Chatfield to fly the flag for the company all over the UK.
The LPG company based in Staveley recently fuelled all the hot air balloons at this year’s Chatsworth Country Fair.
Around 50 balloons took part in the Chatsworth event, and the next event nationally will see AvantiGas engineer and amateur balloonist Steve Chatfield soaring above the lions of Longleat and over the heads of thousands of visitors at the wildlife park’s second annual Sky Safari on September 15-17 – as well as providing the LPG to power hot air burners on around 130 balloons over the weekend at what is now the biggest event of its kind in Britain.
Steve is a balloonist with 18 years’ experience and he had already paid for his entry to pilot his balloon at the festival before joining the staff of festival LPG supplier AvantiGas in April this year. He will be on duty at Longleat so he will now be fuelling the burners that create the hot air lift to send all the balloons high in the sky before piloting his own.
Steve saw an opportunity to promote the company, whose HQ is in Staveley, and as suppliers of LPG to the Longleat balloon festival balloon AvantiGas decided to support him. They will sponsor his LPG fuel supply for a year and have provided an AvantiGas banner to display under the balloon at events all over the UK. A further banner will also be deployed soon to promote one of the charities supported by AvantiGas. He says:-
“We’re supplying the gas for the Longleat balloon meet, that’s a done deal. We’re going to be there filling all the balloon tanks with gas. It’s now Britain’s biggest balloon festival.”
“I’m a pilot, this is my hobby, I love doing it and I fly as often as I can, so if I can promote my company at the same time that’s even better isn’t it?
Stephen Hallett, Engineering, Applications and HSSE Manager at AvantiGas, said:-
“It’s good for marketing, it gets the AvantiGas name out there and the second banner will raise the profile of the charity we choose.”
To assist Steve in return, Stephen has authorised a year’s sponsorship to help meet Steve’s fuel costs for flying at events such as the Longleat meet.
