In 1986, following redundancy, my wife and I started a small sole tradership selling a niche range of engine test equipment to the garage industry in Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire. I was already known to the industry through manufacturing and other related activities, so we decided to use my name, T R Bullworthy, as the title for the company in the hope it would open a few doors for us.
Over the next few years, our customer base steadily grew as did the range of products and services we were able offer. By the 1990’s we had taken on sales, service and installation engineers plus administration staff and a workshop designer to cope with demand from our customers which, by then, had started to include dealership workshops. We were advised to put our company on a more formal footing so by the early 2000’s we became limited and had appointed Stefan Bullworthy and Jason Upton as Sales and Service Directors respectively. We also needed to strengthen our business profile, so we hired a specialist to help with marketing and promotion.
Celebrating 40 years.
Terry Bullworthy (pictured above).
The original members of Trade Group.
Terry Bullworthy (pictured above).
We had become successful enough to start competing with some of the biggest garage equipment suppliers of the time and this had caught the eye of the Trade Group (now Trade Garage Equipment Ltd, or TGE Ltd) who pursued us to join their umbrella garage equipment organisation that covered most of the UK. Initially, I rejected their overtures because I was concerned about maintaining our sovereignty, but those fears were allayed so we joined and benefitted from exposure to some superior products such as Rotary Lift, as well as a sharing of wealth of experience and contacts with like-minded businesses.
The Trade Group has always sourced good, well-known equipment, but I felt that it had enough clout in the market, in terms of sales volume and impact, for it to consider offering branded products off its own. From the outset we were determined that these would be of premium quality and performance and so we selected manufacturers who were able to meet our requirements and support our development as a major market force. These products have become the popular, comprehensive and renowned ‘Technique’ range.
Over the years, the Trade Group (TGE Ltd) and its members have evolved to become a major force and influence in the world of garage equipment. We are an important part of the group, but in essence still T R Bullworthy Ltd. However, image and perception are a vital part of success, so we have updated our identity to become ‘Bullworthy – The Garage Equipment Specialist’.
Following my retirement, the company has been led forward with great success by Stefan Bullworthy and Jason Upton. Major parts of the business now not only support a vast sub-distribution network but are heavily involved in greenfield site development and dealership refurbishments for many major vehicle brands and their dealer group networks operating in the south of the country. Our ability to offer a premium range of products, extensive installation and service support plus workshop design and project management has made us the professional and automatic choice for both existing and new clients. The last forty years may have been formative, but they have been decisive in providing us with the ability and experience to meet the demands of the future of our industry.
Terry Bullworthy.