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In The Beginning – The Gray & Adams Story, By James J Gray
The ‘Long Service Awards’ are back and In this edition we’re thanking six incredible people who have dedicated between 25 and 40 years, and the majority of their career, to Gray & Adams.
Every year we are proud to celebrate these achievements and be a part of this momentous milestone with our colleague’s and on behalf of everyone at G&A, we want to say a huge congratulations for their devotion and hard work over the many years. 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 long service and retirements of these featured colleagues, to those retiring, we wish you all the best, and to those continuing their journey with us, we can’t wait to see what the future brings.
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Arthur Bowie – Assistant Line Manager
Assembly Department – 40 years service Arthur is our longest serving award winner in this edition with 40 years’ service under his belt. Arthur joined G&A right out of school and has enjoyed working in a number of areas of the business stating “one of the reasons that I have stayed for 40 years is that I think the directors and senior managers treat their team really well and you always feel valued and respected for the work you are doing.”

Paul Kewley – Assistant Line Manager
Chassis Brakes Department – 25 years service
Martin Wilson – Group Purchasing Manager
Chassis Brakes Department – 25 years service

We are also delighted to share two long service awards in the Chassis Brakes Department in our Fraserburgh Headquarters. Congratulations to both Paul and Martin who are celebrating 25 years with Gray & Adams.

Trevor Scott – Manufacturing Operative
Retired – 39 years service

Simon Gibb – Door Manufacturer
Retired – 34 years service

Robert Hay – Stores Operative
Retired – 37 years service We also would like to wish Trevor, Simon and Robert all the best in their retirement, and we thank them for their 110 Years of their collective service.
Staff Spotlights Bruce Downie
How Long have you been working with Gray & Adams and what is your day-to-day role?
At the end of November 2022, I will have worked at Gray and Adams for 25 years based in my hometown of Fraserburgh working as part of the CAD engineer team. My role as a Senior Draughtsman in the Gray and Adams drawing office requires me to work with our team of engineers to develop the lifting floor and double deck trailer drawings. These drawings enable our workshop to manufacture the components required to suit the client’s specification.
What attracted you to the company initially?
I grew up in Fraserburgh, so I knew the company well just from being in the area and having friends and family who worked there.
I studied Civil Engineering and unfortunately, I graduated during the recession and struggled to find full-time work at the time. I took a part time job working with my dad as a lorry mechanic when I saw a full-time ‘Store Person’ position available at Gray & Adams which offered more hours. After applying for the role, I was asked to come in and discuss my experience with Jim Watt & Lewis Gray, which led to being offered a job in the drawing office. I quite enjoyed technical drawing at school on the drawing boards so was interested when they said drawing office, and here I am, 25 years later, still drawing! (No drawing boards these days though)
Tell us about your greatest achievement whilst working for Gray & Adams
I’ve worked on a few great projects over the years but one that stands out was the swap body trailer. The partner (Safeway) needed a product that could be used both on road and rail so we developed an integration which could be transferred from the trailer to the rail links which worked perfectly.
If you could do someone else’s job (at Gray & Adams) for the day, whose would it be and why?
To be honest, I really love my own job, drawing is great but if I had to choose, the ‘Completion Team’ would be a great area of the business to be part of. I find it very impressive that they can take a job from an incomplete status and turn it around to produce the quality that Gray & Adams are so renowned for, it must be a very satisfying position.
What is the best thing about working for Gray & Adams?
There are two main things here, firstly, the job itself is amazing and I truly enjoy what I do. I never have two days the same and it’s nice to have that change of pace day to day. Secondly, I was so impressed with the way Gray & Adams approached the pandemic and did an immense amount of work to ensure we all felt safe during this difficult time. They really do care about their employees, and it’s noticed throughout the business.

At Gray & Adams, we are proud of our people, and we work hard to attract and retain talented individuals. We understand that young people are the future of our workforce, so we want to acknowledge the work ethic, curiosity, and ambitious nature of our more recent recruits. In this edition, we speak with Kieran McKinnon, 18 Years Old and based at our Dunfermline depot.
What is your role at Gray & Adams and tell me about your day-to-day responsibilities
I work in Dunfermline in the fabrication department, a more accurate description for my role would be new chassis interface preparation which basically means that I help prepare chassis for new orders according to the bespoke customer specifications. This allows me to do various different tasks such as Sub-frame assembly, fitting fuel tanks and ancillary equipment such as tail lifts, all according to the exact customer requirement, so every day is different.
Why did you want to work for Gray & Adams
I’ve been aware of Gray & Adams for a while and I’m fortunate to have known quite a lot about what they do as my dad is a department assistant manager and has worked for the company for 16 years. I wanted to pursue my interest in mechanics in a professional environment to further develop my skills. I have interest in stock car racing and maintain my own stock car in my free time, therefore a company which were offering opportunities in a mechanical environment locally, was an ideal fit for me.
What has been your biggest achievement while working for Gray & Adams
I’ve not been with the business that long, only 18 months but one of the memorable moments is when I had the opportunity to fit a tail lift on one of the customer orders by myself and without the support of any managers or supervisors. I felt like the training and support from the team had paid off and it was nice to be able to see a job completed right first time knowing that I had a huge part in it.
If you could do someone else’s job (at Gray & Adams) for the day, whose would it be and why
I’ve got some experience in welding through working on my stock car so I wouldn’t mind joining that department for a day! I`m sure I would be quite happy in any of the trades teams as everyone I work with is really nice.

Bryan Easton, General Manager shares his thoughts on Kieran’s career with Gray & Adams so far. “Kieran has really good values, he is hardworking and willing to go that “extra mile” Our people are the key to our success and I am encouraged to see more young people like Kieran joining the business.”

