Gray & Adams Autumn 2023 Newsletter

Gray & Adams News Autumn 2023

In this issue >G rowing McQueens Dairies fleet with GSM Transport >T CS&D 2023 Award Success > 2023 Apprentices >W elcoming Ryan Davies ISSUE 22 | AUTUMN 2023

And so much more

Contents 3

Director’s Introduction

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Growing McQueens Dairies fleet with GSM Transport

6 Navigating new legislation in partnership with MRCT 7 Kickstarting careers in our local community 8 The Gray & Adams Story – Part Four 10

Gray & Adams welcomes special guests to Fraserburgh

11 Customer Case Study – KJ Pike and Sons Ltd 12

Welcoming Ryan Davies to the Gray & Adams Sales Team

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TCS&D 2023 Award Success for Gray & Adams

15 A fond farewell to our long-serving colleagues 16 Partners in Innovation – Gray & Adams and Sunswap 18 Welcoming Gray & Adams 2023 Apprentices 19 Celebrating Supplier Success

– Gray & Adams supports BPW on their 125th Birthday 20 Staff Spotlight: Debbie Young

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Director’s Introduction As the shorter days arrive and the leaves begin to change, the Autumn season is in full force.

Whilst it feels like January was only yesterday, it is important to recognise and reflect on the changes and achievements that have occurred over the course of 2023 so far within the business and the wider industry.

Due to continued success in our market sector and the growth of Gray & Adams, we decided earlier in the year that we would like to expand our sales team and recruit fresh talent. In this edition, we welcome our newest recruit, Ryan Davies, who tells us more about his career to date and what he is looking forward to most about his future career with Gray & Adams (page 12).

We are delighted to share with you on page 14 our success at the 2023 TCS&D Awards, where we won the Customer Service Award. James Gray tells us more about the history of Gray & Adams in Part 4 of his story on page 8. We also welcome our 2023 apprenticeship intake on page 18.

Gray & Adams attended a number of career events in the past year in a bid to spark interest in the transport industry and highlight the wide variety of careers available, you can read more on page 7. On page 10 we also talk about the time we hosted with a difference, by liaising with a local nursery, we were able to show nine children the part that Gray & Adams plays in getting their favourite food from farm to table.

As always, we are renowned for putting our customers first, with quality and bespoke designs that fit our customers’ needs to drive their business forward. In this edition of the newsletter, we speak to Jim Morrison from GSM Transport, who is the main haulage contractor for McQueens Dairies (page 4). We were also delighted to speak to new customer KJ Pike and Sons Ltd and their Financial Director Christian Pike for a customer case study (page 11). Working with key suppliers, where we have developed strong, long-term relationships, is one of the strategies we use to continuously deliver quality to our customers. In this edition of the newsletter, we spotlight Sunswap (page 16). We celebrate our supplier success on page 19 as we support BPW on their 125th birthday. On page 6 we speak with MRCT, a long-term customer of Gray & Adams, on how they are navigating the new legislation on operating longer length semi-trailers.

Gray & Adams also value our people; they are what keeps the business moving forward and have been an important part of our story for over 65 Years. In this edition, we celebrate the retirals of loyal colleagues who have spent decades of service with our business (page 15). We also featured a retiral staff spotlight on Debbie Young who has been with Gray & Adams for over 27 years (page 20).

As we move into the last part of the year, we want to extend our thanks and best wishes to our staff, customers, and suppliers, as well as our gratitude for supporting Gray & Adams for the last 65 years.

James Gray OBE and Peter Gray OBE Joint Managing Directors

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Growing McQueens Dairies fleet with GSM Transport

GSM Transport, who operate from Dornock, Annan, was established in 1996, as an owner-driver operation transporting fresh fish from North of Scotland to Spain. Since then, the business has grown steadily, and it now offers a variety of transport solutions to an ever-growing customer base. They currently operate a number of vehicles on a mixture of international and domestic refrigerated transport driven by a dedicated team of experienced drivers.

GSM Transport is a long-standing Scottish customer of Gray & Adams. Jim Morrison of GSM Transport is the main haulage contractor for McQueens Dairies. Jim has been a Gray & Adams customer for new trailers since 2002 and has taken delivery of 20-plus trailers over the years. We sat down with Jim to speak about the relationship between Gray & Adams and GSM Transport.

When asked about when he first became aware of Gray & Adams, Jim said, “ I don’t have a background in transport, so I was never very interested in trucks though I did notice trailers for some reason.

I first noticed the G&A name while I was still at school and saw a trailer with ‘Gray and Adams new 38-tonne reefer on demonstration’ on the side of it. I had no idea what that meant but I still remember it!”

Jim bought his first truck in 1994 and started doing traction work, mostly in France and Spain. He was pulling a Gray & Adams trailer most of the time and got to like the way it was built, the way it worked and even the way it looked and by that time became aware of the longevity and build quality of a Gray & Adams trailer. He eventually went on to buy this trailer and sold it when it was about nine years old and still saw it regularly on the roads for a long time after that. In 2002 Jim bought his first new trailer from Gray & Adams, and was highly impressed by the fact that as an unknown, one-man-band, he could spec the trailer exactly how he wanted with no issues.

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In 2015, Jim was asked to provide transport for McQueens Dairies. This required the use of tail lifts to load and unload. He had a new trailer on order at the time and asked if it could be changed mid-build to incorporate a tail lift. This was done and on the advice of Stewart Massie, he opted for underslung lifts rather than the industry norm of column lifts, making the trailers more versatile on the reload with general cargo for some of their return trips. The trailer was delivered in not much more than a month, again with no fuss and no problems and that specification has remained virtually unaltered for all of the McQueens Dairies trailers since. Since 2015 the fleet has grown to 27 trailers, almost all of which are Gray & Adams. McQueens Dairies has two more on order for delivery in December 2023 and more in the pipeline for 2024.

“ I have always liked to work closely with people,

whether they are suppliers or customers as I think a good understanding of each other’s businesses helps both parties to get the most out of their relationship. Working with G&A is a good example of that.”

When asked about the future of their relationship with Gray & Adams, Jim said, “ For the future, I’d like to think the relationship will continue as it is. The trailers will no doubt continue to evolve as they always have although I’d expect fuelling to be revolutionary rather than evolutionary. I had a demonstration of the Vector eCool, Carrier’s electrically powered refrigerated unit fitted to a Gray & Adams trailer last year and was very impressed with it.”

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Navigating new legislation in partnership with MRCT

MRCT has been in operation since 1969 and is a family-owned company that describes itself as being deeply committed to its customers and staff. The business delivers a wide range of chilled and frozen food products and operates from their HQ in Suffolk as well as five other depots in strategic locations in England.

Operating a fleet of Gray & Adams built single deck, single temp trailers, along with a far lesser number of trailers from other manufacturers, Gray & Adams was keen to support our valued, long-term customer with their ongoing requirements.

Customer Requirement As a forward-thinking company, MRCT took part in the trial of operating longer length semi-trailers as soon as it was announced because they could see the environmental and economic benefits that it could bring to both the company and its customer. MRCT found that LST’s carrying 28 pallets to distribute their goods allowed for the best volume to weight balance as well as reducing journey numbers which would ultimately create a positive impact on the reduction of CO2 emissions from the business.

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Anticipating the end of the 12-year trial, MRCT approached Gray & Adams to build a further eight 14.6m single deck, single temperature trailers, fitted with Carrier refrigeration units, to be incorporated into the fleet as part of their general replacement programme.

David Brown, Managing Director of MRCT said, “ I re-joined MRCT in 2007 after 10 years at other companies within the industry, I first fostered a good working relationship with Gray & Adams in 1998 and have always found them to be very professional to deal with, their customer service is superb, and the quality of the finished trailers are always excellent. For this reason, we continue to work with G&A and they have recently supplied us with eight 14.6m trailers following a UK wide trial of LSTs. From MRCT’s perspective and through analysing our own data, we found the 14.6m trailers to be no more challenging, and just as safe to operate as a standard 13.6m trailers, and we could see the cost and environmental benefits it would bring to the business. We were disappointed to see that when the findings of the DfT’s consultation was released it recommends additional regulatory controls. My opinion, from an operator’s perspective is that differences between the operation of 14.6m to a 15.6m trailers should be looked into again and given additional consideration.”

Kickstarting careers in our local community Gray & Adams has attended a number of career events in the past year, visiting Fraserburgh Academy, Mintlaw Academy, Turriff Academy, Palace Hotel Peterhead Careers Fair and NESCol Fraserburgh Campus Careers Fair.

In an ever-changing global economy, we are seizing the opportunity to inspire students with hands-on learning in the skilled trades and increasing pathways to apprenticeships that better connect students and job seekers to good-paying jobs. A huge benefit to the Gray & Adams apprenticeship programme is the lack of an upper age limit, making it a highly inclusive scheme, allowing for the best talent to be developed.

Getting young people interested in transport is critically important to the future of our industry. Attending these different career events is a great opportunity to spark an interest in the transport industry and highlight the wide variety of careers at Gray & Adams.

These local careers events are a great opportunity to inspire the future of Gray & Adams.

Our aim is to make people of all ages aware that there are lucrative and purpose-driven careers in the transport industry.

This will give more students and job seekers the opportunity to learn about the life-changing careers in skilled trades that come with defined pensions and benefits.

Getting young people interested in transport is critically important to the future of our industry.

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The m0id0t0o’s late 2

The Gray & Adams Story – Part Four

In the mid to late 2000’s, the opportunity arose for us to purchase some of the remaining buildings adjacent to our site which included the former Power Jacks front office block, some buildings and a strip of land.

One of these buildings, located behind the office block, had housed the main boiler heating system although this had already been removed but much of the electrical switch gear remained.

On further investigation by a certified electrician the majority of the electrical components were found to have been disconnected and as such were removed along with some other fittings we had no requirement for. We installed a new roller shutter door and utilised the building for the storage of tyres used in production.

Unfortunately due to the design and layout of the office block it couldn’t be used effectively for storage of components. We did consider relocating some of our office based staff into the building but it soon became apparent that this wasn’t viable for a number of reasons not least the disruption to our IT system and network and so the building lay dormant for a period of time.

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A few years past and Power Jacks contacted me to enquire as to whether we would be interested in acquiring the remaining land and buildings which lay directly behind ours. After a period of negotiation, an agreement was reached and we were able to secure the land and buildings. One of these buildings, which lay at rear of the site, had been set up and used for shot-blasting material by the former owners but had deteriorated to such an extent that it was in an unsafe condition and beyond repair so our first task involved dismantling and removing it from site. Two of the three other buildings, once cleaned up and made secure, were used primarily to store raw materials and included the relocation of the tyre store since the building currently used for this purpose was showing signs of structural wear and tear. We applied for a demolition warrant for both the former tyre store and office block which was granted and works began during the three week summer shut down period and included ground works for a new staff parking area. The complete site boundary was re-fenced using 2.4 meter high secure palasied fencing and a secondary access point with gates were also installed. Some further ground works provided space for additional trailer parking which alleviated pressures elsewhere as did the additional staff parking.

A period of time passed and other than general replacement of plant and machinery, no further purchasing was done on the Fraserburgh site until I had an approach from Sandy Downie who had a commercial vehicle service and repair facility adjacent to ours and he intimated that he planned on retiring and enquired as to whether we may be interested in purchasing his site. Again, after a bit of negotiation a price was agreed and the premises then transferred into the ownership of Gray & Adams. We carried out some remedial work to the building which included making a new access and fitting roller shutter doors for the purpose of storing raw materials used in the manufacture of our insulated panels. We were also able to utilise the area outside with additional parking space which opened up our site to become more user friendly. We reviewed all of our storage facilities and a number of items were relocated to other areas that were more appropriate and then would you believe, just as everything was starting to settle down, G&J jack, a local fish merchant in Fraserburgh decided to sell their cold store facility which was the last remaining building and land on our site which we didn’t own.

We were successful in bidding for it and once the transaction was completed this provided us with the opportunity to approach Aberdeenshire council and enquire about the purchase of Kessock Road Place. Because this was still an open public road, we couldn’t restrict access and on occasion members of the public would still drive along it and then out again after discovering it was a dead end. The council agreed and we were able to commence with works to secure the site and control access to what was now all owned by Gray & Adams.

By James J Gray OBE

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Gray & Adams welcomes special guests to Fraserburgh

As a business that serves customers all over the UK, we are used to hosting guests and explaining how a Gray & Adams product is built, but this time we hosted a visit with a difference!

Liaising with a local nursery, Old Kirk Nursery in Fraserburgh, we were able to show nine children the part Gray & Adams plays in taking their favourite foods from farm to table.

Group Quality Manager, Davy Smith gives more detail on what the children experienced on their visit, “ We were delighted to have these children on-site at such a young age, asking questions about what we do and what we build, it is so important that we support and build relationships with the community with these types of visits. We try and make them good fun and engaging for the children so we can nurture any future interest they may have in the engineering, manufacturing, or logistics industry from an early age. They were all amazed at what we build and of course, excited to know that we build vehicles that supply their favourite food…..McDonald’s! The kids had great fun guessing which compartments held the burgers, salads and softies!

Each child was given a goodie bag from Gray & Adams as a thank you for visiting our site and you never know, they may well be back working for Gray and Adams in the future!”

We hope the children found the visit fun and inspiring and looking forward to (hopefully) welcoming them back in years to come as team members!

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Customer Case Study - KJ Pike and Sons Ltd As the leading trolley maintenance provider, KJ Pike and Sons Ltd has been established since 1976. As a family business first and foremost, KJ Pike and Sons Ltd has retained the reputation for value and great service.

The business service the main supermarkets in the UK and therefore need reliable transportation to ensure that trollies are delivered from the customers for repair and back again in a safe and efficient manner. In order to achieve this, KJ Pike and Sons Ltd turned to Gray & Adams.

Gray & Adams solution Gray & Adams has recently provided KJ Pike and Sons Ltd with two new double deck trailers with full rear closure and extra-large tail lifts to accommodate efficient loading of the trollies by taking 50 at a time. The unique design of the trailer which has been tailored specifically for the KJ Pike and Sons Ltd business as it has no temperature control facilities or side doors for enhanced security purposes.

Customer Impact Gray & Adams is the only trailer manufacturer based in the UK who can offer the specification KJ Pike and Sons Ltd require.

As well as meeting this need, Gray & Adams are able to offer a quality and durable product which is robust enough to last for 10 – 12 years.

Result Christian Pike, Financial Director of KJ Pike and Sons Ltd tells us, “ The Gray & Adams team are helpful and friendly. They are always willing to adjust specifications and upgrades to newer technology. We always get great feedback from our operators on the ease of use of the trailer”.

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Welcoming Ryan Davies to the Gray & Adams Sales Team.

Due to continued success in our market sector and growth of Gray & Adams, we decided earlier this year that we would like to expand our sales team and recruit fresh talent to the department that can foster a fantastic career with the business, develop strong relationships with our customers and take over the reins for years to come.

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For over 65 years, Gray & Adams has been proud of our consultative approach to sales, so it is important that we attract and retain the best talent across the industry. With this in mind we welcome our newest recruit, Ryan Davies. In this article Ryan tells us more about his career to date and what he is looking forward to most about his future career with Gray & Adams.

Tell us more about your career to date I would describe myself at being at the beginning of my career which is one of the reasons that I am grateful to have an opportunity with a long-standing company like Gray & Adams where I can learn from industry leaders and long serving members of staff. Prior to joining the team here, I previously worked for SDC trailers in a sales role, cutting my teeth in the dry freight sector which was a good induction to the wider logistics industry.

I’ve also been fortunate enough to have a diverse education background and I spent a couple of years in Kansas and South Carolina on a football (UK football aka soccer!) scholarship, this was a good personal growth experience, but it also solidified for me that I wanted to come back to the UK and build a good career for myself.

What made you want to work for Gray & Adams?

I have family members who work in the sector, mainly working for companies supplying Gray & Adams and other trailer manufacturers so I’ve always been acutely aware of who Gray & Adams is and what they do. For me, one of the most interesting things about the company is the strength of the brand, it is such a recognisable name and logo. The company and products are held in such high regard, so it was a no brainer to pursue an opportunity here.

How has your first couple of weeks in the business been and what is your experience so far?

I’ve been officially an employee for over a month now and it’s been full on but also incredibly interesting and diverse. There is a lot to learn as the technology and offering is more advanced than what I was used to discussing with customers in my previous role so I’m grateful to have the rest of the sales team to learn from. I’ve been spending a lot of time in the Doncaster depot and accompanying Andrew Brown, Ryan Mazgaj and Chris Pearce on their customer visits and I’m looking forward to finally heading up to Fraserburgh as I’ve been told that the set up in the factory at our main HQ is very impressive.

How do you see your future progressing within Gray & Adams?

One of the main things that I found so interesting about Gray & Adams was the longevity of careers here. I’ve spoken to a significant number of people who have had careers spanning 20, 30 and 40 years. This is something that I really value as it shows that Gray & Adams look after their people, why would people stay here so long if they didn’t love their jobs? I’m looking to emulate this path and build a long-standing career in the sales team. My immediate plans are to get up to speed with the technology and meet as many customers as I can and discuss how I can support them.

“ This is something that I really value as it shows that Gray & Adams look after their people, why would people stay here so long if they didn’t love their jobs? I’m looking to emulate this path and build a long-standing career in the sales team”.

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TCS&D 2023 Award Success for Gray & Adams

Andrew Brown collecting the Customer Service Award.

For the 10th anniversary, the TCS&D Awards took place to celebrate and give recognition to all who contribute to the cold chain sector in the UK. Celebrating innovation, customer service and commitment to the industry, manufacturers, logistic partners and Gray & Adams’ suppliers and customers came together at The Midland Hotel in Manchester for an evening of celebrations.

The TCS&D awards which was celebrating a milestone itself, champions innovation, commitment, and sustainability in the cold chain sector. This year, some additional categories were included to show the industry’s commitment to diversity and to celebrate the hardworking people involved. These categories were Inspirational Woman of the Year and Unsung Hero.

The highly anticipated evening was successful for Gray & Adams, picking up one trophy and we were also honoured to sponsor two further award categories to solidify our support for the event and customers and suppliers alike. The categories that we sponsored were the Partnership Award and Rental and Contract Hire Company of the Year.

The award that was successfully picked up by our team was the Customer Service Award, sponsored by Longhurst refrigeration, which was presented to Andrew Brown, Sales Director, Doncaster.

This was a poignant win for the business as it was the first time entering this category since the Covid-19 pandemic, and we knew we faced some tough competition. The judges were looking for entries that showcase positive customer’s experiences and a factual account of outstanding levels of service that highlights the culture of a “customer first” focus within the winning organisation.

We were delighted to share many positive customer testimonials on the quality of our service and relationships in our entry which we believe helped us secure the win.

Andrew Brown shares with us, “ The 10th anniversary of the TCS&D awards saw us face our toughest competition to date in the categories we entered.

We were delighted to be named the winners of the Customer Service Award, it’s something that our business takes incredibly seriously and all our teams from sales to aftercare genuinely value the relationships we have fostered over the years. These relationships have allowed Gray & Adams to flourish and grow to become the industry leader it is today, so we are delighted to be recognised for the additional care and attention to detail we give our customers. Talking of our customers, we would like to congratulate Castell Howell on picking up the Refrigerated Transport Operator of the Year award.

We are looking forward to returning next year and hopefully scooping up some further wins in additional categories.”

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A fond farewell to our long-serving colleagues Testament to the way the business is run, Gray & Adams is proud of the number of employees who have served with us for many years. Our company has been built on the commitment and high-quality work of our employees, and we would like to take this opportunity to profile their careers and share our sincere thanks for their service.

Gordon, Billy and Alexander have dedicated over 90 years of service between them, and the majority of their careers, to Gray & Adams. Every year we are proud to celebrate these achievements and be a part of this momentous milestone with our colleagues and on behalf of everyone at Gray & Adams, we want to say a huge congratulations for their devotion and hard work over the many years.

GORDON SCOTT

Gray & Adams is proud of its people, they are key to our success, and it is integral that we recognise outstanding work. We are delighted to celebrate the retirements of these featured colleagues and we wish you all the best.

Gordon Scott Gordon worked as a Line Manager in the Panel Welding Department for 26 years. We would like to thank Gordon for his service at Gray & Adams and wish him well in his retirement.

Billy Park Billy worked as a Manufacturing Operative in the Foam Fill Department for 35 years. We would like to thank Billy for his service at Gray & Adams and wish him well in his retirement.

BILLY PARK

Alexander Sinclair Alexander worked as a Panel Manufacturing Operative at Gray & Adams for 36 years. We would like to thank Alexander for his service at Gray & Adams and wish him well in his retirement.

“ Gray & Adams is a local company that looks after their workforce. They are family orientated, and I have enjoyed working there for 26 years, I always felt welcome”.

ALEXANDER SINCLAIR

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Partners in Innovation – Gray & Adams and Sunswap

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As well as the significant environmental benefits, which has been further projected by the Sunswap team to remove 450 tonnes of tailpipe (scope 1) carbon emission and 4.4 tonnes of nitrogen oxides over a 10-year period, Gray & Adams endeavour to ensure that the quality and robustness of our trailers as new additions to the 2024 fleet remains incomparable to the competition.

With sustainability being a key concern for our customers, Gray & Adams is delighted to partner with Sunswap to bring zero-emission refrigeration to their fleets. We are looking forward to working together to support even more of our valued customers in their journeys to reduce their environmental impact in a way that is also commercially beneficial to their businesses.

Alistair Leckie, from Samworth Brothers tells us

Having been in business for over 65 years, the Gray & Adams name has become synonymous with innovation. It is at the heart of everything we do. Using engineering innovation and new technologies to create solutions that benefit our customers, as well as the rest of the world, has become something of a passion for our teams.

“ Following a successful trial, Samworth Brothers is looking forward to taking delivery of the new trailers. Having worked with Gray & Adams for many years, we trust them to supply quality products and give sound advice on innovative solutions that will support our business. The integration of Sunswap technology with Gray & Adams quality has been a great example of this, and we believe the partnership will bring significant environmental and commercial benefits to our business going forward.”

This forward-thinking approach to adapting new technology into our products has allowed Gray & Adams to often be the first to present new-to-market solutions to our customers.

It is strategically important to G&A that we partner with suppliers who share our passion for problem solving. One such partnership that we are excited to announce is with a pioneering clean tech company, Sunswap.

Gray & Adams has partnered with Sunswap to supply Samworth Brothers with battery and solar-powered refrigerated trailers to fulfil a third of their 2024 fleet upgrade, following a successful trial in spring this year.

Samworth Brothers is a long-term customer of Gray & Adams and we have gained a deep understanding of their business over the years. We knew that they regularly undertake lengthy and energy-intensive delivery cycles for their customers, so the business required a solution that was able to rise to the challenge.

By replacing trailers traditionally fitted with diesel powered TRUs with Sunswap technology, the trial in effect removed 600g of nitrogen oxides and 65kg of tailpipe carbon dioxide. Another key result is that the TRU was not plugged in to charge during the two-week trial period, instead utilising solar energy to recharge.

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Welcoming Gray & Adams 2023 Apprentices Each apprentice has been assigned to a team where they will further develop their knowledge and skills across various disciplines as well as being exposed to the various sectors in which Gray & Adams operate.

Gray & Adams place huge importance on nurturing emerging talent and attracting key skills into the industry to continue the success of their long-standing business. We are committed to creating opportunities for people and encouraging people to fulfil their potential, in turn minimising the risk of potential industry skill gaps.

Gray & Adams has long supported young people through apprenticeships with many of our senior team having started as apprentices and worked their way into specialist or management positions. Gray & Adams is focused on continuous development within the company and has an ethos of developing and supporting their people throughout their careers. Gray & Adams is committed to the next generation of industry talent, this begins with their apprentices.

Gray & Adams is proud to welcome an intake of apprentices each year. The 2023 intake will gain hands-on experience, developing their skills within a working environment at the Fraserburgh HQ as well as achieving an industry-recognised qualification from the North East Scotland College. The combination of on-site learning and college-based learning, along with supportive mentoring from people of all levels across the business is a massive benefit for our apprentices.

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We look forward to supporting our new apprentices on their journey with Gray & Adams and wish them a warm welcome.

“ Many of our senior team started as apprentices and worked their way into specialist or management positions.”

Celebrating Supplier Success – Gray & Adams supports BPW on their 125th Birthday

As a business who has a reputation for unrivalled quality, Gray & Adams believe it is important to foster great relationships with suppliers so we can ensure that we deliver solutions to our customers that bring them value, commercial benefits, and the latest technology. With this in mind, Gray & Adams has partnered with BPW for years, utilising their axle and suspension systems in many of our bespoke builds.

As BPW’s parent company, BPW Bergische Achsen KG was celebrating a huge milestone of 125 years in business this year, Gray & Adams were delighted to be invited along to the birthday event and show our support to our supplier and the wider industry.

Carried out over Wednesday 20 and Thursday 21 September BPW’s customers and guests were invited from core areas of the transport industry and this included Jim Webster and Ryan Mazgaj from the Gray & Adams sales team.

After a quick marquee turnaround from afternoon business seminar to Oktoberfest style, the evening kicked off around 7pm as guests were welcomed back into the main marquee and greeted with a stein of beer from Lederhosen clad BPW Limited staff, including Neill Groves - Managing Director, Glyn Davies - Sales Director, David Smith - Finance Director, plus members from both the sales, marketing, and engineering teams.

To keep in with the theme, a traditional German fayre of bratwurst, chicken schnitzel, fried potatoes with bacon & onions, pasta salad, green salad, pumpernickel bread & butter was served.

The event was a great success and provided an unusual spin on an industry event which our team enjoyed. As well as sharing in the festivities with friends and contacts, as an industry leader, Gray & Adams believe it is of the upmost importance that we show support and celebrate the success of businesses in our industry who’s values of innovation and quality align with our own.

Thank you to BPW for the invitation and congratulations on achieving this milestone, from all of us at Gray & Adams.

The event theme was Oktoberfest, to which Jim and Ryan were more than happy to get involved with! Each afternoon started at around 4pm with a seminar on industry-led topics such as electromobility, ladened brake roller testing and electronic brake performance monitoring which provided useful insight from other areas of the industry before the festivities began. Later into the afternoon guests relaxed in the reception area and were invited on a short tour of the production and assembly facilities.

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Staff Spotlight: Debbie Young Gray & Adams is proud of its people and we recognise that their commitment and expertise is the key to the long success of the business to date. We have been fortunate enough to have had many long-serving employees over the years and we believe it is important to have their dedication and hard work recognised.

In October 2023, Gray & Adams celebrated the retirement of long-serving Gray & Adams employee Debbie Young. Debbie was based at Dunfermline and worked for the business for 27 and a half years. We caught up with Debbie just before her retirement to find out more about what she will miss about working for us and what she is looking forward to as she enters this new chapter.

Tell me about your time with Gray & Adams I am originally from South Africa and moved over to Scotland in the 90’s. I saw a Gray & Adams job advert in the local paper, came for an interview, had my first day on 4th March 1996 and I have been here ever since. I started my career as a receptionist and assisted stores with various inputs, such as requisitions and paperwork. My role then started to expand over the years, and I took on other responsibilities such as purchase ledgers, sales ledgers and attendance records. I have also at times helped out in Fraserburgh for the payroll, carried out administration tasks for the sales side of the business and helped the General Manager too.

What did you do before you came to Gray & Adams and why did you want to work here?

Before I moved to the UK, I was a Secretary Administration Manager in South Africa, it was here that I learned to type in manual typewriting, and helped me gain the experience to begin my role as a Receptionist at Gray & Adams.

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“ I have really enjoyed getting to know everyone at Gray & Adams.”

What have you enjoyed most about working for Gray & Adams?

I like the family feel of the company, most of the staff here in the office area have been here for a few years and it’s friendly and even those who have come later, have fitted right into our Gray & Adams family. I like that Gray & Adams is leading in the market of refrigerated vehicles, I think it is so exciting to see the process go from start to finish, starting with the drawings. I have really enjoyed getting to know everyone at Gray & Adams, not only where I am based in Dunfermline, but meeting and talking to people from the other branches too.

What are your plans for retirement?

I would like to travel as much as I can while I can and also spend more time with my grandchildren.

Debbie would like to thank everyone who has been part of her time at Gray & Adams and will think of her time there with fond memories.

James and Peter Gray would like to thank Debbie Young for her commitment to the company and wish her all the best in her retirement going forward.