Fraserburgh business on the road to success

Family owned business, Gray & Adams, has been named as a finalist in the Sir Ian Wood Award for Innovation category of the 2006 Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise.  The firm, which was set up in 1957 is a privately owned business which manufactures bespoke refrigerated and dry freight vehicles, in articulated and rigid versions, for clients throughout the United Kingdom and Eire.  The Fraserburgh based business will find out whether or not they have won the handcrafted trophy and a cheque for £5,000 at the awards ceremony which will be held at Ardoe House Hotel on 8 June 2006.

Chris Travis, chief executive of Enterprise North East Trust (Enterprise) comments, “The Sir Ian Wood Award for Innovation recognises businesses who can demonstrate an innovative approach to product or service development.  All three finalists in this category have had to demonstrate originality and innovation in product or service delivery, and have had or have the potential to have a positive impact on the Grampian economy.”

Gray & Adams was set up in 1957 by Jim Gray and Jim Adams.  The company now has four established manufacturing sites across the United Kingdom and Ireland.

James J Gray, Production Director of Gray & Adams comments, “In the face of stiff competition across the industry we have been able to not only maintain a high level of service but also to continue to expand, something which has enabled us to improve efficiencies and increase production capacity.” 

The company has always striven to provide innovative solutions to its customers.  Manufacturing bespoke freight vehicles and trailers for both temperature controlled and specialised dry freight application Gray & Adams has maintained and expanded a customer base which includes blue chip companies in the face of fierce competition from rival companies across Europe.

James says, “Since the business was set up by my father and his brother in law, the aim has always been to provide innovative solutions to the freight vehicle industry.  Six years ago we redesigned our main product to allow an increased level of flexibility to manufacture vehicles to our customer’s requirements.  This decision has proved to be extremely beneficial, allowing us to offer our main product at a more competitive price and defend our market share.  We have also developed multi cell vehicles that have been used for prisoner transportation and, more recently, a ‘game larder’ was devised in response to changes in legislation which require game to be prepared and stored in a temperature controlled environment.”

Employing 350 people in Fraserburgh and over 600 across the group Gray & Adams recognise that their people are their most valuable asset.  James adds, “Some of our staff have been with the company since it started almost fifty years ago.  All members of staff are offered training and development opportunities and we have also retrained people who were formerly employed in the fishing industry.  Being named as a finalist in the Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise demonstrates the achievements that Gray & Adams has realised; we are committed to continuing to provide our clients with a responsive service ensuring that we carry on fulfilling their requirements whilst recognising the vital role that our staff plays in achieving this aim.”

Named alongside Gray & Adams Ltd as finalists in the Sir Ian Wood Award for Innovation are Turriff based Keenan Recycling Ltd and Aberdeen based NovaBiotics Ltd.
Stuart Heslop, Director of Commercial Banking for The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in Aberdeen says, “In today’s increasingly competitive marketplace it is important that businesses are able to respond to their customers needs.  All of the finalists in the Sir Ian Wood Award for Innovation have demonstrated that innovation has been vital for them to anticipate and react to the changing needs of their customer base, giving them an important business edge over their competitors.”

Winners will be announced at a black tie awards ceremony on Thursday 8 June 2006 at Ardoe House Hotel by Aberdeen.  All finalists will receive a certificate with category winners picking up a coveted enterprise award and a cheque for up to £5,000.

The Awards commend business achievement in companies of all sizes and enterprising individuals, are organised by Enterprise North East Trust (Enterprise) and sponsored by RBS and Business Gateway (in association with Scottish Enterprise Grampian).

Winners from last year’s awards include Poseidon Engineering, Zertech, double award winners Caledus, ANM Group and Graeme Anderson of boxportable.

Tickets cost £80 per guest (plus VAT) or £800 (plus VAT) for a table of ten.  The event begins with a champagne reception at 7pm, with carriages at 12.30am.  Tickets for the event can be booked by calling 01467 672535, or emailing events@enetrust.com.

More information about the awards can be found at www.enetrust.com.  Winners were selected on 13th April 2006 and will not be announced until the awards ceremony takes place on 8th June at Ardoe House Hotel, by Aberdeen.

Ends

Picture Caption: James J Gray of Gray & Adams says that being named as a finalist in the Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise demonstrates the achievements that Gray & Adams has realised.  The company will find out if they have won the award at the ceremony on 8 June 2006.

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