Premier Coaches bosses feared the north-east bus firm might not survive the pandemic.
But now, following an astonishing journey back from the brink, they are ploughing £2 million into a new base near Kintore.
The workshop and offices, along with a bus and taxi depot, at Hill of Cottown is hoped to help business blossom further.
The firm previously received permission to build a new depot and garage back in 2016.
But a revised scheme was submitted after the business grew faster than bosses had expected coming out of Covid.
And the expansion has now been approved by Aberdeenshire Council.
Plans come after pandemic posed a threat to Premier Coaches
Owners Alan and Gemma Findlater bought Premier Coaches more than 10 years ago.
At the time most of its vehicles were found to be “dilapidated” while its headquarters were in need of some TLC.
But after a lot of hard work, they reached the point where work on the new site began in 2019.
They had to apply the brakes when the pandemic hit, and things soon got worse.
The key parts of business at that time were school buses and transporting oil and gas workers, the latter of which had been dwindling since the downturn.
But with schools forced to close and employees asked to work from home, the firm found its contracts were being cancelled.
At one point, management feared the business could go bust.
How did they survive?
However Premier Coaches invested in smaller vehicles and adopted strict Covid prevention measures to provide more suitable transport options for north-east energy companies.
Offshore workers arriving in Aberdeen would be driven by the firm to destinations across the country, ensuring they reached home safely.
Premier Coaches also collected staff and brought them to the airport when it was time to go back offshore again.
Now a further £2 million will be invested to build the new depot – which could take up to two years to complete.
Alan said: “We’re one of the biggest employers of staff outwith the oil industry in Kemnay and Kintore, we’ve got 60 plus staff and it’s always growing.
“With Covid we were one of the fortunate companies that continued to grow and probably came out of it about a third bigger than we went into it… Which then created more demand.”
Luxury brand paying off
While Alan said providing school transport was the firm’s “bread and butter”, they recently set up luxury brand Luxe Scot which has taken off “massively”.
“We’re generally busy but you can never know what’s around the corner,” he said.
“It’s made us go that extra mile to ensure that we exceed expectations, not just meet them. Because the pound is a lot more precious now than it’s ever been.”
Kintore and District Community Council objected to expansion
While they noted the firm has been a “valued employer” Kintore and District Community Council asked the local authority to reject the expansion plan.
Members said the extra vehicles would increase damage to the single track road and could jeopardise road safety.
But the application was unanimously approved by the Garioch area committee this week.
The site will include a new bespoke yard and garage facilities for the firm’s 52 vehicles.
Some of the company’s fleet will be relocated to the new site while part of the business will stay at its current location nearby.
Additional parking spaces will be created on the new site along with ten electric vehicle charging points.
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