“DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN?”

from CDi Issue 10 (60th Anniversary Edition) - July 2023

CD

Welcome to "Do you remember when?"—a series commemorating CD Group’s journey as we continue to celebrate our 60th anniversary in this issue.

In honour of this, we embarked on a nostalgic adventure, asking some of our dedicated team members past and present, "Do you remember when?". They've shared some of their memories, highlights, and stories from their time working with us. While there may be some tales we can't divulge, there are plenty that we're pleased to share with you.

Firstly, we hear from Ken Knox, our former Managing Director and Chairman. Ken has kindly shared some of his memories from his 50+ years in the business.

Ken Knox Former Managing Director & Chariman

Taking us back to the start, Ken talks about the early years when the business had been set up in premises on the Dublin Road in Belfast City Centre; “With a total of seven staff, everyone had to do a bit of everything”. Ken even mentioned that when a S1000 Massey Ferguson exhaust fell on top of his head by accident, he had to drive himself to casualty at the hospital with blood coming out of a makeshift bandage because there were not enough colleagues to give him a lift.

After 10 years of being in business, “We had outgrown the Dublin Road building, so the options were to either build a new depot on Boucher Road or move out to rural Mallusk. I won the debate and we moved to a purpose built warehouse and offices in Mallusk at the end of 1974. Another big step for the company was to move from a manual Kardex stock control system which had approx. 6,000 part numbers on it, to a computerised system in 1976/77. This computer system was specially written for CD as an off the shelf system was not available back then!” Now 46 years later, CD could not function without stock control and location software to operate efficiently over the three sites, with over 600,000 parts listed on the system.

Whilst reminiscing about the growth of the business over the years, Ken mentioned that “It has been healthy for the company to embrace the next generation and I am delighted to see my sons working in the family business. Whilst we must not lose sight of the company’s strengths over the years, I know that Terry & Iain will remain focussed on what is required for the company to remain strong for many years to come.”

Many thanks to Ken for sharing the above with us. As a final note, Ken has left us some guidance for the future; “My advice for the future, is for CD Group to keep doing what it has always done, by being focussed on; Range, Quality, Availability and Good Customer Service.”

It is great to hear from our previous (and very well known) colleague, Hugo Murphy, who has kindly shared some of his memories during his 40+ years working at CD Group. Hugo joined the company in its infancy and has certainly seen plenty of changes over the years.

Hugo Murphy FormerSales Director

“I left Lloyds Bank in London in 1975 with plans to study in Edinburgh University the following year. Joining CD was initially a temporary job, but a second-hand Ford Escort and a monthly salary forced me to forego student life and stay with CD for 42 years!”

Over this time, Hugo experienced changes in product, customers, and service, mentioning how “One of the biggest changes during my career was vehicles became more sophisticated, from radiator hoses and mild steel exhausts to complex engine management components. Customer relationships also changed especially with the growing influence of buying groups wanting a footprint on this side of the water.”

Regarding service, Hugo recalled “Customer demand moved to requiring more frequent deliveries than the past. Two deliveries a week to Derry was good service in the 70s, now it is 10 times a week!”

Hugo mentioned that working for a family business meant he could have instant access to decisions and support from his employers –“Ken’s door was always open and he, along with Greg, were always there to offer advice and support to all colleagues if needed”. Talking about happy memories from his working life at CD Group, “My relationships with colleagues and customers has led to friendships that have lasted beyond retirement.”

Once again, thank you to Hugo and all staff who have contributed to the article

Sharon Harper Customer Service Manager, Mallusk

Sharon joined CD Group in 1984, working in the sales office at a time when TecDoc didn’t exist, and paper catalogues were of the upmost importance to identify parts for customers. Having worked in the company for 40 years she has seen the company grow impressively and also watched Terry & Iain go from being annoying little kids running around the place, causing havoc after school or on summer holidays, to taking the business forward since Ken retired.

“There were already computers when I started working at CD Group in 1984, but I remember our printers were massive, the size of a large table. We used MH10’s for our sales reports for many years, which some of you might remember.”

Whilst Sharon heads up our Mallusk sales office team now, she used to have another very important job many years ago, opening and running the ‘tuck shop’ each day at work for all team members on site.

Thomas Shortt Administrator, Dublin

Thomas Shortt was one of CD Group’s first new members of staff since the company acquired the Apec Distributor, Brake Parts Dublin, from Edric White in 1999, and he remains an integral part of the team today, being in the business for over 24 years.

Thomas has built long-standing relationships with customers, as he highlights that joining a Golf Day at Carton House with CD customers and colleagues was a fond memory in his career, allowing him to

“I would shout ‘shop’ and the boys from the warehouse would come running for their ‘tuck’. Between that and our homemade canteen lunches (to give you an idea, it was around 30pence for a full roast beef inner, made by a lady called Jean) the team was well fed. That was a good thing, as the warehouse team could often be found out in the car park playing football”

Thank You to Sharon for sharing the above, and for all your hard work over the years.

“put customer faces to names on the day, while enjoying one of my favourite things, golf.”

What pipped this at the post, however, was Thomas’ favourite memory of travelling to Spain to see Apec braking being manufactured at the Remsa factories. “It was over 20 years ago, but it is still my favourite memory to date. It was totally unexpected for me to be asked to join, and I really appreciated getting the opportunity to do this.”

Thomas explains that by being one of the first Dublin employees, he truly feels a part of the family business. Many thanks to Thomas for sharing these fond memories, and here’s to making many more.

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