Family firm creates new jobs with £1 million investment
FOUR new jobs will be created next month thanks to a £1 million investment by a family firm.
DR Alexander & Son is building a new showroom complex in Inverness as it celebrates 35 years in business.
The facility, which includes new offices, is being built next to the firm’s existing site in Seafield Road.
It is set to become the focus of DR Alexander & Son’s trailer sales in the north Highlands area and will have space to show all models across the Ifor Williams Trailers range.
New full-time jobs will be created in sales, administration, spares and servicing when the state-of-the-art centre opens next month.
Bulldozers have already moved in and are demolishing some of the buildings on the site to make way for a new showroom, workshop, parts department and office space.
Mark Alexander, managing director of DR Alexander & Son, said: “It will be a one-stop shop for anyone looking to buy or repair an Ifor Williams trailer.
“We’ve outgrown our current space and we’ve always wanted to better ourselves. It will be the first trailer showroom in Scotland for Ifor Williams Trailers so it’s a great achievement.
“There’s a huge market for Ifor Williams trailers in Scotland, particularly in the north, and the demand is right across the model range. We have farmers, builders and livery businesses wanting the reliability of the Ifor Williams Trailers range.
“We’ll be making sure we give our customers plenty of opportunity to see models from the range due to the increased yard space in Inverness, and by swapping stock between our Inverness and Reay depots. We’ll be able to put any model of trailer in the showroom.
“The new site will significantly increase our capacity to stock spare parts and meet our customers’ servicing needs.
“The business has grown so much over the years and the showroom will make a huge difference to us in that we can display all the products on offer. It’s a place where people can look at the trailers, even in bad weather which is pretty common in the north.
“We already provide spares but the new parts department will have a bigger facility to store everything a customer requires from axle beams and brakes through to lights and tyres. We’ll be able to deliver spares to all the islands in Scotland because we’ll have a bigger supply at hand.”
The showroom site was bought from DY Fraser, the joinery firm overseeing the development.
The firm currently employs six full-time staff.
“We’ve always been very keen to support the local economy and that’s one of the primary reasons we recruited a local firm to oversee the development,” Mr Alexander said. “The new jobs will be good news for the local economy.”
