A Fife garage chain is to celebrate 17 years in business by opening their 17th outlet.
D&G Autocare opened its first site in Dunfermline in 2004. Since then it has expanded across Tayside and Fife, as well as in the west of Scotland.
The move is a further consolidation of its position in the west, where it owns garages in East Kilbride and Airdrie. The new facility will be situated just opposite the Shawfield Stadium in Rutherglen.
Set up a cost of £150,000 the new facility will employ five staff and will provide a full servicing provision, including MOTs for Classes 4 and 7.
Experienced autocare professional, Shaun Clelland, previously the manager at D&G Autocare in East Kilbride, will head up the new garage which hopes to employ apprentices in the near future.
Notable for claiming an industry first a few years ago, when it launched an innovative vehicle management app to market, D&G, headquartered in Kirkcaldy, Fife, employs a total of 150 people, with a £10 million turnover.
The app provides automatic reminders a week before tax, MOT or car insurance is due to expire.
George Simpson, who owns the business with David Hunter, said the new garage, which will open in April, was good news for the local economy.
He said: “We are delighted to offer to both domestic and business customers in the Rutherglen area, a modern and accessible new garage carrying the trusted D&G name. It’s good news for the local economy at what has been an extremely difficult time for everyone. We look forward to building a strong clientele here in the coming months. This is a fantastic new location, just five minutes from Glasgow City Centre.
“It’s also an extremely happy coincidence that this opening of garage number 17 is coinciding with our 17th anniversary. Looks like it’s a lucky number for us at this time.”
He added: “It was always our intention at launch to try to open a new garage every year, if we saw the correct opportunities in the right locations.
“It hasn’t worked out exactly like that, but we’re really pleased to have got to this total, especially given the pandemic, which is affecting every part of the economy. Each garage we open represents an overall investment in equipment and staff of over £150,000, which is a considerable amount of money.”
Mr Wood went on to say that the business operated a very successful apprenticeship scheme for both mechanics and administration staff.
“Three young people will be qualifying later this year across our group as a result of our apprentice scheme,” he said.
“It’s really important to us to keep this going, and even before the pandemic came along, we saw real value in this approach, providing us with young mechanics trained to our own standards, and administration staff that understand the business inside out. We would hope to take on an apprentice in the future at the Rutherglen garage.”
He said D&G employed local people at each of its locations.
“This is important to stress, as many customers want to keep their business local, another legacy the pandemic has left us,” he added.
“We’re always keen to get involved in the grass roots communities around our garages and have in the past sponsored many local clubs and associations. It works well for us in spreading awareness of our branding and services, and we intend to keep going with this.”
