Turnbull & Scott's First Year Comes To An End
As Turnbull and Scott's first year under new management comes to an end, we catch up with Peter Murphy, Managing Director, to find out where it all started whats been happening since.
HOW DID THE MBO/MBI COME ABOUT?
Having spent over a decade in manufacturing I was looking to buy into a company committed to manufacturing great products in the UK for UK customers. Cliff Rowe and John Rafferty were looking to retire from the business and had to put it on the market.
SOUNDS LIKE IT WAS AN EASY DECISION FORM THE OUTSET?
It really became attractive when I got to meet Jim Davidson and the rest of the team. It was then I recognised the heritage and pedigree of Turnbull & Scott and the people who work there. I remember calculating that the twenty engineers had nearly four hundred years experience of designing and manufacturing heating systems. Most have served their apprenticeship with us, learning the skills from the generation that came before. The value of that continuity and experience, because it's so intangible, is often overlooked by investors. I just knew it was more important than any of the equipment or stock.
DOES THAT MEAN THE PLAN IS TO CONTINUE DESIGN AND MANUFACTURE AT THE HAWICK WORKSHOPS?
Yes. The trend has been away from manufacturing here in Britain, but we know our customers value the quality and innovation that can only be provided by a close collaboration between the customer, design team and the engineer at the workshop. Too often one of these three, customer, design and manufacturing, are too far removed to provide the flexibility and reliability required by the demanding needs of our customers.
SO HOW HAS THE FIRST YEAR BEEN?
Great. Our customers have been very supportive of us and we have managed to grow our business. That during a period of transition is a reflection of how well the team has stayed focussed on the customers, Most customers have noticed no significant change, and perhaps improvement, in how we respond to their requirements. It's the philosophy of just doing the basic things well.
AND WHAT CHANGES ARE PLANNED FOR THE FUTURE?
The short answer is very little. Our priority is to keep doing the things that our customers have always appreciated, and for which they have been very loyal. We will focus more on undefstanding their needs and we will try to develop our existing services towards those needs. We will continue to invest in training and we are expanding our annual apprentice intake to ensure we have the ability to meet these demands. But most of all, we will make high quality reliable products designed exactly the way our customers want them to be.
Peter can be contacted on 01450 372053 or at peter.murphy@turnbull-scott.co.uk