The Douglas Gillespie Plant team enjoying the 40th birthday celebrations

In 1968, a young Scottish couple had a dream - a dream to go into business for themselves. They did not want to get to 50 and say 'if only'.

The young man, Douglas Gillespie, packed his bags and headed to the US to research the forklift rental market. His wife, Margaret, quit her job as teacher to join him in his search for information. He came home excited, overflowing with ideas and opened the Douglas Gillespie Plant (DGP) in Glasgow, bringing forklift contract hire to Scotland.

Douglas and Margaret Gillespie started their forklift company 40 years ago with two employees and six forklifts. Since then, the company has gone from strength to strength and now boasts a fleet of 600 forklifts.

The Douglas Gillespie Plant range

Douglas Gillespie, chairman and managing director, says the company is delighted to reach such a landmark. "The stability and growth over the years is a testament to the dedication of our staff and to the trust and confidence our valued customers place in us to deliver the best possible materials handling service for their businesses. Many of our first customers are still very loyal to us after 40 years, proof that so many appreciate our commitment to them."

The family-owned business has changed over the years, with sideloaders being added to the fleet and it is now considered one of the foremost companies in specialised protected forklifts. DGP is the Mitsubishi dealer for central Scotland and won Mitsubishi's Gold Award for 2007.

Gillespie says DGP is different from the rest as the company is independent. "DGP is able to supply any type of forklift and offer unbiased advice on the right forklift for the individual application. We have a wide range of forklifts and one of the reasons for our success is we offer personal attention to our customers. Our service base and mobile service engineers are located close to our customers."

Many of DGP's key personnel have been with the company for over 25 years. Gillespie believes in loyalty and says a company is only as good as its employees. "We have recently taken on a number of new staff and our daughter, Tracey, has returned from working in California to join DGP."

Tracey Gillespie, Douglas Gillespie and Margaret Gillespie

DGP prides itself on attention to detail, which ensures customers are as loyal as their staff. "Our longest-standing customer is a company in Ayrshire who has a very large fleet of forklifts and has been with us for 39 years," Gillespie says.

DGP sees a bright future spanning another 40 years as it gazes into the crystal ball. "We see steady growth and expansion of our used equipment side of the business," Gillespie tells Forkliftaction.com News. "In the past 12 months, we have added GBP2 million (USD3.28 million) worth of new forklifts and sideloaders to our fleet."

"Our motto has always been there is no substitute for good hard work and honesty in business. Like a snowball, you have to keep pushing for it to grow.

"The future looks bright for us. Despite the current economic climate, business is good," he says.