Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

New Year Honours: Fraserburgh refrigerated transport brothers made OBEs

Gray and Adams directors have been picking up a few awards in recent years, including the Queens Award for Enterprise. Brothers Peter Gray, left, and James Gray, right, are pictured receiving the award from Aberdeenshire Lord Lieutenant, Sandy Manson, middle.
Gray and Adams directors have been picking up a few awards in recent years, including the Queens Award for Enterprise. Brothers Peter Gray, left, and James Gray, right, are pictured receiving the award from Aberdeenshire Lord Lieutenant, Sandy Manson, middle.

Brothers James and Peter Gray, joint managing directors of Gray and Adams in Fraserburgh, were made Commanders of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the New Year Honours.

The company, whose refrigerated rigids and trailers are used to transport goods by household names such as Aldi, Asda, the Co-op, Iceland, Morrisons, Sainsbury and Tesco, has been on the road since 1957.

Gray and Adams refrigerated trailers are a common sight in roads across the UK. Image: Gray and Adams.

Founder Jim Gray built G&A from humble roots as a car body repair workshop into one of the UK’s leading family-owned manufacturing businesses.

He died in in 2021 aged 86 following a short illness and within eight weeks of losing his wife of 66 years, Norma.

His sons James and Peter now run the business. They were both awarded OBEs for services to industry and to the community in Fraserburgh.

The company – which also claimed a 2020 Queen’s Award for Enterprise – employs more than 700 people.

In a statement Peter said: “It was a complete surprise and shock but I was absolutely delighted and speechless when I was informed that I was to receive an OBE in the New Year honours list.

“I am thrilled to receive such an honour which is so closely linked to the success of our family business, Gray and Adam.

“In accepting such an award as joint managing director, I must also pay tribute to my late father, Jim Gray, who founded Gray and Adam in 1957, and all the amazing loyal workforce who work tirelessly to make G&A one of the best refrigerated transport engineering companies in the United Kingdom.

“We will certainly make sure everyone is included in the celebration.

“It is also a tremendous honour to receive this award in the first honours list from our new king.

“Apart from getting over the shock of receiving this honour, I will be celebrating with my family friends and colleagues in the coming days.”

He added that he would also be raising a glass as a result of the honour.

“Yes, a good single malt will help the shock and celebration,” he said.

‘It’s in my blood’

Older brother James said: “When I first got the notification of the OBE I was overwhelmed that individuals took the time to fill in the paperwork to nominate us.

“I may never know who they were, but I will always be grateful. Not just for myself but for my wife Catherine and my immediate family.

“It is quite incredible that two brothers have been given this award a the same time. I am sure that is very unusual.”

Speaking of the his own success in business, he said: “It is all down to hard work and being there. Never mind all the fancy bits and pieces, just don’t get carried away. A rainy day will come – just look at where we are at now – be ready!

“Our staff are extremely loyal, and I can not thank them enough for all they do.”

He added: “The business is in my blood, I was with my mum in the pram at the very start of the business, and we are still in it today. It is in my blood.”

Conversation