Three new directors have been appointed as a West Cumbrian firm grows and develops.

Responsive Limited, based at Lillyhall, near Workington, has created three new subsidiaries to meet demand for its services.

Lee Grears, managing director of Responsive Ltd, said: "We’ve grown a lot since I set up Responsive in 2015 and we needed to change our structure to reflect our business as it is today and to ensure that we’re in good shape to continue to grow."

Its structure now includes non-destructive testing, mechanical testing and training.

Each is led by a new director with shares in their part of the company. A similar share ownership arrangement has also been made with the appointment of Harish Patel to lead the Manchester-based arm of Responsive non-destructive testing.

Gareth McNally is the new director of Responsive Non-Destructive Testing Ltd based at Lillyhall.

He has worked in the business since 2016.

He will be combining the director’s role with his specialisation in radiography and inspection.

Mathew Tomkinson leads Responsive Training Services Ltd in Whitehaven.

Mathew has been working in this part of the business since May and has already successfully taken the lead in gaining the required accreditations.

The third new director is Tony Lister, who is leading development of Responsive’s Mechanical Testing arm, also based in Whitehaven.

Tony said: “With no other commercial testing labs in Cumbria, it makes complete sense to add a destructive testing element to Responsive.

"We’re in the process of making a significant investment in new facilities that we’ll be opening officially early in 2020 so these are exciting times for us.

"I’m looking forward to what’s ahead.”

Lee added: “With this management team involved in planning and developing every aspect of our business, I think we’re in a great position to grow.

"Some of that will come from Responsive’s strong reputation with customers here in Cumbria and we’re also looking forward to making new connections across the North West and beyond.”