The Bridgend
story began in the 1920s when founder Hugh McLaughlan
was working as an apprentice shoemaker for the Co-op.
He foresaw the demise of the horse and cart as a means
of transportation and invested in a lorry. He could
not drive so hired a driver as well. In 1930, he formed
his own haulage firm becoming the first operator in
Ayrshire to run articulated trucks. The change from
haulage contractor to garage proprietor took place in
1950 when Hugh opened the first BridgendGarage in Old
Glasgow Road, Kilwinning, carrying out car repairs and
selling fuel.
Hugh’s sons Daniel and Alexander, now owners of the Bridgend Group,
joined their father in 1966, helping the business to
expand over the next 20 years from the traditional garage
into associate motor trade operations such as used car
sales and vehicle service facilities such as accident
repair. Additional premises were bought at Pathfoot
for used car sales and at Woodburn Avenue in Kilwinning
to accommodate accident repair work. The site was soon
outgrown and operations moved to Alexandria Terrace.
The most recent move came in 1993, when Accident repair
operations moved to its present location at Burnside
on Old Glasgow Road where today it incorporates the
most advanced technology.
In 1980,
Bridgend decided to take on the little known Colt Car
Company franchise, now Mitsubishi, becoming one of the
first dealerships in the country to take on the Japanese
franchise. The Mitsubishi franchise along with service
and repair was expanded and developed at premises in
East Road, Irvine. Today
they are the longest established
dealer in Scotland. By attaining the highest customer satisfaction
record were awarded dealer of the year.
In 1996,
Bridgend acquired the 6-acre Riverside site, opposite
the original premises of Bridgend Garage. During the
latter half of 1999 work began on the site, in the shape
of a £1million investment. West of Scotland’s largest
dedicated used car complex, expanded workshop facilities
and expanded valet areas have been the result.
The Bridgend
Group now comprises six companies whose operations encompass
new and used car sales,
service and
maintenance,accident repair and car hire.
The company now has a total of 85
employees, with several family members in key positions
and Daniel and Alexander still at the helm. Daniel looks
after the Kilwinning side of the business, with Alexander
making sure everything in Irvine remains ship shape.
“Our company
has been built on loyalty and trust, a family operation
that has stood the test of time. Many of our employees
we took on straight from school, training them in the
various skills required to run a successful business.
Many now hold senior positions with key responsibilities.
It never has been, and never will
be our policy to ‘buy-in’ expertise, it is better home
grown, you cannot buy that kind of loyalty.”
“Our policy has always been to refurbish
and rebuild at all our premises in an effort to provide
the high levels of service we believe customers should
receive. In addition, this creates a much better environment
for our employees which is reflected in the quality
of their work.”
“Our objectives are to consolidate
what we have achieved to date and be attentive to any
local opportunity that arises.”
“To be successful you have to have
hands-on, grass roots control. This is achieved through
our type of approach to running the business. We have
regular management meetings where everything gets thrashed
out – we never have major disagreements about policy.
We trust each other’s judgement implicitly.
“We have
been taking necessary steps to stay ahead of this changing
market. The motor trade in Scotland will have to change
the way it operates or some dealerships are in danger
of going out of business – customer choice is what it’s
all about.
