Well-known Aberdeenshire builders merchant GPH is celebrating its 40th anniversary.
It’s a business that’s always stuck to it Garioch roots having been headquartered in and around Inverurie throughout the years.
Garioch Plant Hire was started up on April 21 1982 by Mike Macaulay, Eric Ingram and Jock Ingram with a yard based in the Souterford area of Inverurie.
Sadly Jock Ingram was killed in a car accident in February 1983 less than a year after getting GPH off the ground.
In February 1998 with Eric Ingram deciding to retire it was time for new people to come on board with Kenny Findlay and John Glover becoming joint owners with Mr Macaulay.
Ambitions to increase GPH turnover
Forty years later at the age of 67 Mr Macaulay still remains with the business and is still as passionate as ever about the future of GPH.
The company has revealed plans to increase turnover from online sales to £1 million in the next two years.
It also aims to become a paperless business in the next five years, reduce landfill waste by 50% by 2025, integrate new products into the business and employ at least 10 apprentices, trainees or graduates within three years.
It is also planning on raising £40,000 for numerous charities selected by employees, with each recipient having a special meaning to staff.
For Mr Macaulay, who is also chairman of Inverurie Locos Football Club, the vision has always been simple for him.
He said: “We’ve never been a company to expand really fast. We’ve grown organically and as we can afford it.
“The main driver I have is always to be debt free business so that’s what we’ve aimed for.”
It was 1995 the business moved to Harlaw Park in Inverurie and in March 2004 the second branch of GPH opened in Westhill.
In 2006 the move was made to bigger premises in Highclere Business Park in Inverurie where they remain today with more than 100 members of staff.
Ever changing technology
For Mr Macaulay there has been major changes over the year but none more so than how computers and software has altered how work gets done.
He said: “Technology has been the biggest thing. There’s no handwritten notes anymore.
“The amount of administration is nowhere near the same now.
“The only bit of technology we had at the time was a fax.
“It’s all done automatically and just keeps going.
“I’m not an experienced technological person but I realise it’s the only way forward.”
In April 2017 GPH took over the JRD home and garden centre in Ellon and also opened in Stonehaven in November of that year.
Like many other businesses the effect of Covid-19 was felt by GPH but JRD was able to continue operating as it was classed as an essential store.
From lockdown to cost rises
Mr Macaulay, who has been married to wife Gillian for 44 years, said: “Fortunately JRD was classed as a hardware store so it didn’t have to close but the rest of the merchants business did.
We’ve had folks in here nearly fighting over the heads of a bag of cement.”
Mr Macaulay
“We fed JRD from our depots as we had a lot of stocks.”
With the cost of living affecting not only consumers but businesses as well Mr Macaulay is well aware that
“The biggest thing after that though was replenishing the stock and that’s been a massive headache and also the price of some of the materials,” he said.
“Cement has been a problem to get. The price has been going up all the time.
“We’ve had folks in here nearly fighting over the heads of a bag of cement.
“We are slowly getting there.”
Inverurie Locos chairman role
Mr Macaulay is certainly kept busy with him also being chairman of Inverurie Locos Football Club.
He was vice-chairman at Huntly Football Club before making the move to join the Locos committee when they entered the Highland League.
He has been chairman there for the past five years.
“It’s enjoyable but we have a committee of 18 people who are all passionate.
“When Inverurie Locos got into the Highland League I joined the committee as a few of my friends were involved and I’m still booed when I go back to Huntly”, he laughed.
Important to nurture youngsters – in business and football
He continued: “One of my passion at GPH is seeing the young ones coming through and I don’t like it if some of our older folk don’t pay attention to them and bring them on.
“Because they forget that someone brought them on and with the football it’s the same thing.
“You are always dealing with youngsters and it’s great to see them coming on.
“Our new manager Richard Hastings I feel will move us up a few gears and he’s beginning to get us to where we really want to be – semi professional football.
“That’s our ambition. One thing we always say at Locos is if a youngster comes on board with us we’ll never hold them back.
“We’ve been hugely successful off the field but haven’t been that successful on the field.
“I see us getting to that point now and appointing Richard is a game changer for us.
I never thought in my time at Inverurie we would have a manager who had played against Argentina for his country.
“His pedigree is fantastic and I never thought in my time at Inverurie we would have a manager who had played against Argentina for his country Canada.
“I’ve had a lot of low points. Seeing young players careers ended through injury and managers having to leave.”
Inverurie Locos also has a strong ties within the local community with close to £120,00 being invested within the past five years.
It also sponsors Aberdeen FC Community Trust (AFCCT) coaching within primary schools in Garioch.
Looking towards the next 40 years
One of the ways the business plans to keep growing is build on its online store.
Mr Macaulay, who is also the newly-appointed chairman of north-east farmers’ co-operative ANM Group, said: “We had actually planned to do more work with our online offering before Covid but that has since accelerated it.
“We have two members of staff working on our online sales and we treat it like having another branch.”
GPH managing director Grant Shewan added: “Working towards a more sustainable alternative is a big issue in this industry.
“We are looking at long-term alternatives we can introduce, such as investing in renewable technologies, powering our branches with 100% renewable energy and shifting some of our fleet of vehicles to electric power.
“We are also looking to grow and open new sites, either through organic growth or by acquiring other businesses.
“This is an exciting period for GPH, and we approach a new era with an optimistic outlook for a successful future.
“The founding partners have put in the solid foundations, and it is up to myself and the rest of the leadership team to ensure a bright next 40 years.”
Expansion is important as we can afford it.”
Mr Macaulay
Mr Macaulay continues to look forward to the future of the business.
He said: “Expansion is important as we can afford it.
“The only site we’ve built ourselves has been Westhill and the rest we have acquired through retirement and that’s always what we look for.
“A lot of them don’t want to sell to a multi-national business.
“They worry about their staff and want someone to keep them on.”
Still as devoted 40 years on
It’s clear Mr Macaulay still has the same passion for the business as the day he started and has no intention of thinking about retirement anytime soon.
He said: “I’m here before 7am every morning. I wouldn’t say I’m here every day all day because I do a few other things as well including the football club.
“I just always say you are excited to get up in the morning and if you aren’t excited you get up anyway because usually that means you’ve an issue needing sorted out.
“So either way you’ve got something to get up every morning for.”
Strong charity work
The company has a proud track record of supporting charities, including recently donating £2,920 to Maggie’s Centres for every goal scored in the GPH Builders Merchants Highland League Cup, and bucket collections at each match.
It also raised more than £2,000 for CLAN Cancer Support, as well as supported the Archie Foundation through the purchase of an Oor Wullie sculpture from the Big Bucket Trail in 2019.
A staff committee has now been set up in a bid to raise £40,000 for charities to mark the anniversary milestone.
Mr Macaulay said: “We asked for volunteers and I was amazed how many people wanted to do it.
“People all have their own ideas on what they’d like to raise money for so we are trying to get that focussed.
“Everybody is really touched at some point by cancer and they tend to want to raise money for that and our feeling is that there isn’t enough money goes towards cancer research.”
Mr Shewan added: “As a local business we are proud to have supported our communities on every level for the last 40 years, with the people we employee and serve at the heart of everything we do.
“The local communities have supported us for over four decades and have helped play their part in the company becoming what it is, so it is only right that we something back to our loyal customers.”
Conversation