Award-winning brand agency Champions (UK) plc has strengthened its client base by winning a contract with leading global aerospace and defence supply chain provider Pattonair.

The East Midlands-based company will provide public relations and digital web services alongside social media management to further enhance Pattonair’s marketing strategy.

Champions recently provided communications support around Derby-based Pattonair’s $1.9bn merger with Wesco Aircraft Holdings, a deal which significantly expanded its US presence and reinforced its operations around the world.

“We required a team that could support our ever-expanding services across local, national and global arenas,” says Jason Rance, Pattonair’s group innovation director. “In that respect, we found Champions’ experience and skills to be up there with the very best. Their support so far has been invaluable, particularly when it came to developing communications around our recent merger with Wesco Aircraft Holdings. I’m confident that this will be a long-term and successful partnership that will allow us to continue to communicate our strategies to customers and suppliers across the globe, with efficiency and ease.”

Family-owned Champions, based in Costock, near Loughborough has recently expanded its expertise across 10 departments and has taken on 50 new members of staff in the last nine months. Its new £1m media centre will be officially unveiled at a ceremony in November.

The company, established in 2003, recently made a leap in the list of the top 200 fastest-growing businesses in the East Midlands – moving from 197th place last year to 12th this year.

Similarly, The University of Derby has recognised Pattonair’s significant contribution to the local economy in a recent study, listing it among the top 200 most successful companies in Derbyshire. In January, the company struck a major sponsorship deal with Derbyshire County Cricket Club, leading to the naming of the Pattonair County Ground.