Scotland’s Gordons Construction Equipment is opening its seventh location, the first in central Scotland, this summer. The new depot for the family-owned plant machinery specialists, which is headquartered at Castle Douglas and has six sites in Carlisle and the South-West of Scotland, will open in Blairgowrie, Perthshire.
This is part of a triple expansion for Gordons Construction Equipment as it also becomes a licensed dealership for two other well-known machinery brands, Dieci and Bomag. Combined with Develon, which it is has the exclusive dealership for in Scotland, this will make Gordons Construction a one-stop shop for digging, material moving, lifting and compaction equipment.
“We are really excited about this next stage,” explains Kevin Fraser, one of four Directors of Gordons Construction Equipment. “Dieci and Bomag perfectly complement the Develon offering to give our customers the full spectrum of kit they need for every scale of project, while the Blairgowrie depot will give our customers in the East and North of Scotland a chance to come and see the equipment more conveniently. Importantly, it also means we will be able to offer a prompt service to these regions of Scotland with both parts and engineer support.”
Formed in 1865 by James Gordon, and bought by the Montgomerie family 100 years ago, Gordons was originally a supplier of agricultural equipment, expanding into construction in 2017. It has since been the exclusive dealership for Develon in Scotland.
The Blairgowrie depot is Gordons’ first construction-only depot with a range of plant machinery for different types of business and projects including house and factory building contractors, landscape gardeners, joiners, waste handling, forestry and peatland restoration. Kevin explains it will also be attractive for farmers looking to buy a digger, telehandler and other equipment for farm and land management.
Dieci includes a range of tele and rotation handlers and Bomag specialises in compaction equipment including road rollers, planers and recyclers, which complements Develon’s range of excavation equipment.
“All three of these companies reflect our values and quality of service,” says Kevin. “Their innovation and advanced technology create high industry standards in productivity, safety, operator comfort and sustainability which we are very pleased to be able to offer our customers.”
The Blairgowrie site was bought from Fergus Mitchell, who is retiring, and Gordons Construction Equipment looks forward to building on the valued reputation and service he built. Ahead of the opening of the new depot, local businesses have been employed to create hard standing for the machinery and create the new workshop and showroom.
Electric car chargers will also be installed and there are solar panels on the roof for powering the site.
The company, which has an annual turnover of £65m, and won this year’s award for Best Heavy Machinery Dealer and Gold Level for Service award at the Develon Dealer Conference in Rome, currently employs 110 people, many of whom have been with the business for many years. It is recruiting locally for staff for the Blairgowrie depot, including mechanics and administration roles.
Rab Robertson of Taiga Upland, who has bought a range of Develon equipment from Gordons for fencing and forestry infrastructure work, said:
“We are really pleased that Gordons Construction Equipment is opening a depot in Blairgowrie. They are a great firm to work with, which starts with really good advice when buying but also brilliant after service when we’ve had breakdowns or need parts. This is very important when time is money, so having a site on this side of the country will be great for both seeing what’s on offer and for getting parts and engineers to us those few hours’ quicker.”
An open day will be arranged in September to welcome local businesses and the community to see the new Blairgowrie depot. In the meantime, Gordons Construction Equipment will be at ScotPlant on 24 & 25 April at the Royal Highland Centre in Edinburgh to showcase its range from all three partners, including the Scottish debut of Develon’s new Series 9 range of smart crawler excavators. Gordons will also be at the Royal Highland Show and the Black Isle Show.