Longstanding relationships - the key to Gray & Adams success?

As the Gray & Adams group celebrates 50 years in business, and Gray & Adams Ireland has just moved through the quarter century, they are delighted to report that there are some customers that have dealt with the company from the very beginning. Companies such as Blair International Transport, Dale Farm (United Dairy Group) and Dale Farm Ice Cream, Hughes Frozen Foods, McBurney Transport, McCulla (Ireland) Ltd, Morgan-McLernon Transport, Noel Zwecker International Transport Ltd, PRM Logistics Ltd and Sawyers Transport have been loyal customers to Gray & Adams Ireland since 1981, when the Irish G&A depot commenced trading. Some have an even longer history with the Gray & Adams headquarters in Fraserburgh, Scotland, that has been trading since 1957. Other customers that deserve recognition include O’Kane Food Services that have dealt with Gray & Adams since their days trading as Graceys or Robert Cromie, Transport & Customer Services Manager for Tesco NI, who formerly did business with Gray & Adams during his time working for the Henderson Group.

So what is Gray & Adams secret to success? Well, maybe as Ashley McCulla, Managing Director of McCulla (Ireland) Ltd. suggests, it is the product support provided by Gray & Adams, or as David Blair of Blair International Transport suggests it is the dependability of the company. Mr McCulla said, “Aside from the superior build quality of the Gray & Adams trailer, the after-sales service provided is definitely an important consideration for me when choosing to buy new trailers. Ivan runs a very efficient repair and service workshop. His reaction times for starting work on damaged trailers and his overall repair turnaround times are second to none. Mr.Blair explained, “We have built up a lot of trust with Gray and Adams and can consistently depend on them producing the goods. However, one factor that undeniably has contributed to the continued growth of the company is the close business relationships that have been built between Gray & Adams and its customers over the years.

In a recent survey undertaken independently by Door Openers Marketing Services on behalf of Gray & Adams, many additional comments made by customers included words such as proactive, professional and responsive when describing the Gray & Adams business approach. Indeed, the questionnaires uncovered that 63% of customers chose to buy from or use the services of Gray & Adams based on the companys reputation, coming second only to product quality (which was the main influence for 78% of Gray & Adams customers). As well as this, nearly half of all customers surveyed first heard of Gray & Adams by referrals/word of mouth and 97% stated that Gray & Adams overall performance matched or exceeded their expectations, therefore proving that the company lives up to its reputation.

Maybe its not such a coincidence then that nearly all of the companies mentioned above have either taken delivery of new Gray & Adams trailers or bodies in the last 12 months or have some on order at present! This continued investment in Gray & Adams products also demonstrates the strength and growth of each of these companies over a long period of time and in fact, the United Dairy Group, McBurney Transport, O’Kane Food Services and PRM Logistics have all found themselves repeatedly among the Top 500 Northern Irish Companies (source: www.businessworld.ie)

As well as this, most of the companies that have been dealing with Gray & Adams Ireland since 1981 all share similar values, both with each other, and with the Gray & Adams group. With the exception of the Dale Farm Group, O’Kanes and Tesco, all of the other companies remain family-run organisations. These companies are all customer-led and have a genuine focus on delivering a quality service, another trait that is shared with Gray & Adams. Perhaps pairing customer-led service companies that thrive on providing tailored solutions to their customers with Gray & Adams, which has built its business on providing bespoke designed trailers and bodies, is simply an obvious combination.

With all this said, it is important to add that Gray & Adams have a philosophy of treating all customers with the same importance, regardless of their size or status and the same attention to detail is paid when designing a product for the smallest owner-driver business as is given to the largest logistics operation. Stuart Martin, Sales Manager for Gray & Adams Ireland explains, “We value smaller fleet operators as customers just as much as the big players as they are, and always have been, the backbone of the Gray & Adams business. Pat Campbell, owner of Pat Campbell Transport in Newry believes that Gray & Adams offer a complete package. He commented, I have been pleased with all dealings that I have had with Gray & Adams, from the quality of the product to the level of service from the beginning of an enquiry. I have always found Gray & Adams staff easy to work with. Charles Carr of Carr International Transport in Co. Donegal agrees. He explained, Gray & Adams can crete and supply a trailer to a high specification with attention to my particular needs. Coupled with the quality materials used in Gray & Adams products, it is this attention to detail in the beginning that may be the reason why Gray & Adams trailers and bodies have an industry-wide reputution for the longevity of their products. That extra attention given to damage prevention measures when designing the trailer, although driving up the initial cost, easily pays off in the long term when running and maintenance costs are taken into consideration.